ARENAS: HIDDEN ENERGY WASTE: Small Components with Large Impacts | By Zach Kremer, PE, RCX-EB CP
- tem opens the outdoor air damper to decrease the amount of CO2
- erly. In this scenario, you are wasting money and equipment capacity to condition outdoor air you don’t require for ventilation.
RH Sensors
• Due to the type and sensitivity of the sensing element, calibration of RH sensors should be checked no less than every two years. If the sen- or frequent condensation, more frequent calibration checks may be re- quired.
-
keep up with during the everyday schedule of these spaces. By not engaging in proactive maintenance, a facility can often face increased energy usage - ciency and functionality of your facility. First, take a quick assessment of your current challenges. Has your energy consumption increased without a clear rea-
son? A slow increase in energy use day-to-day doesn’t seem like much, but over time this can create a big impact on the bottom line. Although this is typically a slow drift, it is certainly something to pay close attention to and take necessary precautions to avoid. Have there been noticeable changes in your equipment usage
levels? - plain the increased load, you may be able to recover “lost” capacity by em- ploying some simple practices. Have you noticed an increase in comfort complaints? This
doesn’t mean you need a new system or equipment, but it does show that comfort to your occupants.
calibration the quickest and can have major impacts.
CO2 Sensors 2 -
fy drift or calibration loss of sensors. Failure to monitor this data leads to impact on both occupant comfort and energy use. • CO2
sensors should be calibrated using a calibrated device and calibra-
frequent calibration may be required to maintain optimal performance. • If a CO2
sensor cannot be calibrated, then it should be replaced. If
34 Facility Manager Magazine
• Due to the nature of RH sensor operation, if a sensor is found to be out of calibration, it needs to be replaced. Failure to do so can have a control is necessary. • When out of calibration, RH sensors can cause equipment to go into - crease cooling or reheating operations. Temperature sensors can do the same thing. When they start to drift, they’re not providing accurate data to the rest of your system and your costs will begin to rise.
- the sensors can’t read properly and supply additional unnecessary air. • By cleaning these sensors properly, you will save fan horsepower and prevent wasted heating and cooling simply by making sure that the complaints from the occupants.
The bottom line: Maintaining and replacing sensors at the correct in-
tervals is crucial to avoiding substantial costs in operating your facility. Most buildings do not replace their sensors quick enough, even those that utilize service contracts for controls and equipment. With modern controls systems, sensors are crucial to the successful opera-
tion of a building. By planning these routine maintenance activities, a facility - rience but will also provide increased value to their company through energy cost avoidance. Becoming educated and staying on top of these procedures With a seemingly never-ending list of things to do while managing a fa-
but their potential impact cannot be overstated. In giving them the correct attention in the proper timeframes, your facility and bottom line will be in much better shape. FM
Zach Kremer is an associate, mechanical engineer, and commissioning agent for Henderson Building Solutions, a construction management and commissioning company that is a whol- building systems for more than a decade. His experience includes retro-commissioning at the improve operations and energy costs.
• When out of calibration, these sensors will often start reading more CO2
. The
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
