High Performance Chilled Water VAV Systems, An Unconventional Look at System Design

Brian Fiegen Systems Engineering Manager Trane La Crosse, Wisconsin Shane Labuzan Account Manager Trane Central Indiana District Indianapolis, Indiana
March 2010

ASHRAE 90.1 Moves Toward Net-Zero

100

Building Stock Median

ASHRAE 90.1-1999

Building EQ (EUIbuilding/EUImedian)

80

ASHRAE 90.1-2004 ASHRAE 90.1-2007 ASHRAE 90.1-2010?

60

LEED 2009

LEED 2.2

LEED 2.1

40

20

Net Zero
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Golden Rule of Reducing HVAC Energy Use

First, reduce the load. Glazing: Avoid glazing which faces east
or west, shade exterior glazing, use insulating low-e glass, and make all glazing as small as possible (consistent with use of daylighting) Daylighting/Lighting: Design envelope and glazing so the sun provides interior lighting at perimeter, and design efficient supplemental interior lighting that modulates when not needed Envelope: Design and construct exterior enclosure to be as airtight as possible
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high performance chilled water VAV systems

Agenda

Cold air systems

Benefits Common concerns

Optimized VAV system controls Energy performance comparison

Chilled Water VAV systems

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Lower Supply-Air Temperature

Benefits
Reduces supply airflow
Less supply fan energy and less fan heat gain Smaller fans, air handlers, VAV terminals, and ductwork

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SA Temperature vs. Airflow

space sensible supply cooling = 1.085 airflow (Tspace Tsupply) load same same same 100% cfm 80% cfm 67% cfm (75F 55F) (75F 50F) (75F 45F)

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Lower Supply-Air Temperature

Benefits
Reduces supply airflow
Less supply fan energy and less fan heat gain Smaller fans, air handlers, VAV terminals, and ductwork Can reduce HVAC installed cost Can reduce building construction cost

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lower supply-air temperature

Can Reduce HVAC Installed Cost

Lowering supply-air temperature from 55F to 48F
reduces supply airflow (cfm) by 26%
Ducts can be smaller VAV terminal units can be smaller Diffusers can be smaller Air-handling units can be smaller (plus smaller electrical service and VFDs)

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example

HVAC Installed Cost Savings

Twelve-story office building in Atlanta, GA
(30,000 ft2 per floor) One VAV air-handling unit per floor
Base design: Alternate design: 55F supply-air temperature 48F supply-air temperature

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example

Air-Handling Unit Selections

cfm Base Alternate 25,600 20,000 size ESP 3.5 in. 3.5 in. TSP 4.21 in. 4.97 in. bhp 28.4 22.2 motor HP MBh (total) 919 961

50 40

30 25

AHU equipment costs (12 units, including VFDs)

Base = $204,962 Alternate = $167,345 ($38,000 savings, or $0.11/ft2)

If ductwork and VAV boxes are downsized also:

Less sheet metal, insulation, and labor = $50,370 ($0.14/ft2) Smaller VAV terminals (300 units) = $7,800 ($0.02/ft2) Total HVAC cost savings = $96,170 ($0.27/ft2)
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lower supply-air temperature

Can Reduce Building Cost

Smaller indoor air-handling units can allow for
smaller equipment rooms and more usable floor space Smaller ductwork can allow for a shorter floor-to-floor height, reducing the cost of building materials and labor

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potential reduction in duct size 55F supply air (10000 cfm) vs. 48F supply air (7400 cfm)

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concrete slab floor

55F supply air

ceiling

48F supply air

5 in.

What if you could save 5 in. per floor, in a 30-story building? What if you could save 5 in. per floor, in a 3-story building?

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Lower Supply-Air Temperature

Benefits
Reduces supply airflow
Less supply fan energy and less fan heat gain Smaller fans, air handlers, VAV terminals, and ductwork Can reduce HVAC installed cost Can reduce building construction cost Improves occupant comfort Lowers indoor humidity levels Lowers indoor sound levels

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55F SA OA RA MA SA 84F DB 76F DP 75F DB 57% RH 79F DB 55F DB

(900 cfm)

48F SA 84F DB 76F DP 75F DB 49% RH 81F DB 48F DB

(670 cfm)
60 70 80 180
humidity ratio, grains/lb of dry air

160

OA MA

140 120 100 80

50 30 40

SA

RA

60 40 20

SA
50 60 70 80 dry-bulb temperature, F 90 100

30

40

110

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Lower Indoor Humidity Levels

Conventional system
(55F supply air)

Indoor humidity levels of

55% to 60%

Low-temperature system
(45F to 50F supply air)

Indoor humidity levels of

45% to 50%

Lower humidity improves occupant comfort, which can increase employee productivity and student alertness.

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Lower Supply-Air Temperature

Common concerns
Increases reheat energy, reduced
economizer savings Minimize comfort problems due to cold air dumping Avoid condensation on air distribution system components

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lower supply-air temperature

Maximize Energy Savings

Use supply-air-temperature reset (ex: from 48F to 55F)
during mild weather
Reduces reheat energy use Recovers lost economizer savings

Raise space setpoint by 1F or 2F

Lower indoor humidity often allows zone dry-bulb temperature to be slightly warmer Further reduces supply airflow and fan energy use

Keep same size ductwork

Further reduces fan energy use Allows SAT reset in systems that serve zones with near-constant cooling loads Capable of delivering more airflow, if loads increase in future
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Supply-Air-Temperature Reset
Benefits
Decreases mechanical cooling Increases economizing Decreases reheat energy

Drawbacks
Increases fan energy Raises indoor humidity levels

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SA temperature reset

Example #1: OA Temperature

SA temperature setpoint, F

60 58 56 54 52 50 48 45 50 55 60 65 70 75

outdoor dry-bulb temperature, F

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lower supply-air temperature

Minimizing Comfort Problems

Use linear slot diffusers

dumping

linear slot diffuser

conventional concentric diffuser

and supply-air-temperature reset (example: from 48F back up to 55F)

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lower supply-air temperature

Avoiding Condensation
Properly insulate and vapor-seal
ductwork, VAV terminals, and supply-air diffusers

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surface temperatures on duct insulation (wrapped metal duct) 44F supply air (Trane district office in Dallas, TX) fully-ducted return air path (85F dry bulb above ceiling)

trunk duct (2 in. insulation) outer surface temp = 82F branch duct (1 in. insulation) outer surface temp = 77F

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lower supply-air temperature

Avoiding Condensation
Properly insulate and vapor-seal
ductwork, VAV terminals, and supply-air diffusers Maintain positive building pressure to minimize infiltration of humid outdoor air Use linear slot diffusers to increase air motion Monitor indoor humidity during unoccupied periods and prevent it from rising too high During startup, slowly ramp down the supply-air temperature to gradually lower indoor humidity

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examples

Humidity Pull-Down Sequences

SAT ramp-down schedule
supply airflow limit 2 hours before occupancy 1 hour before occupancy Scheduled occupancy 40% of design 65% of design no limit supply-air temperature 55F 51F 48F

or

SAT ramp-down based on indoor dew point

SAT = current indoor dew point 3F

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Source: ASHRAE Cold Air Distribution System Design Guide (pp 138-140)

summary

Lower Supply-Air Temperature

Benefits
Reduces supply airflow
Less supply fan energy and less fan heat gain Smaller fans, air handlers, VAV terminals, and ductwork Can reduce HVAC installed cost Can reduce building construction cost Improves occupant comfort Lowers indoor humidity levels Lowers indoor sound levels

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Optimized VAV System Controls

Supply-air-temperature reset Optimal start/stop Fan-pressure optimization Ventilation optimization
Demand-controlled ventilation at zone level Ventilation reset at system level

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Traditional VAV Fan Control

supply fan

VFD

VAV boxes static pressure sensor

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Fan-Pressure Optimization
static pressure sensor supply fan

VFD

VAV boxes with DDC controllers

BAS

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fan-pressure optimization

Part-Load Energy Savings

surge

static pressure

duct static pressure control

fan-pressure optimization airflow

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fan-pressure optimization

Benefits

Part-load energy savings Lower sound levels Reduced risk of fan surge Less duct leakage Factory-installation and -commissioning of duct pressure sensor Operator feedback to "tune the system"

Typical applications: any VAV system!

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Required by ASHRAE 90.1 Since 1999

6.5.3.2.3 Setpoint Reset. For systems with DDC of individual zone boxes reporting to the central control panel, static pressure setpoint shall be reset based on the zone requiring the most pressure; i.e., the setpoint is reset lower until one zone damper is nearly wide open.

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demand-controlled ventilation

CO2 Sensor in Every Zone??

lounge CO2

rest room

BAS

storage

office CO2

vestibule

corridor

CO2 reception area

elevators

CO2 CO2 office CO2 conference rm computer room

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ventilation optimization

Zone Level: DCV

BAS

lounge CO2

rest room

storage

office OCC

vestibule

corridor

TOD reception area

elevators

TOD OCC office CO2 conference rm computer room

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ventilation optimization

System Level: Ventilation Reset

air-handling unit with flow-measuring dampers Reset outdoor airflow

SA

RA

CO2

TOD

CO2

OCC

TOD

OCC

BAS New OA setpoint per ASHRAE 62

DDC/VAV controllers Required ventilation (TOD, OCC, CO2) Actual primary airflow (flow ring) Calculate Vent Ratio

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ventilation optimization

Benefits

Saves energy during partial occupancy Lower installed cost, less maintenance, and more
reliable than installing a CO2 sensor in every zone
Use zone-level DCV approaches where they best fit (CO2 sensor, occupancy sensor, time-of-day schedule) Combine with ventilation reset at the system level

Earn LEED EQc1: Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring Typical applications: any VAV system!

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Example TRACE 700 Analysis

High Performance VAV system 48 F supply air Optimal start Fan-pressure optimization SA temperature reset Ventilation optimization
DCV at zone level Ventilation reset at system level

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12,000,000

Houston

Los Angeles

Philadelphia

St. Louis

Annual Building Energy Use, kBtu/yr

10,000,000

Pumps Fans Heating

8,000,000

Cooling Plug Loads Lighting

6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000

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High Performance VAV System

Reduced energy Reduced materials of construction and first cost Improved comfort Lower sound

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Questions

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