HVAC 360 - Episode 028 - Howard McKew

On this episode of HVAC 360 I get a chance to talk with Howard McKew, President of Building Smart Software. Howie has a ton of experience to draw from the various industry jobs he's held and often writes about that experience in his columns in Engineered Systems Magazine.  It was truely a pleasure to talk to him and I hope that you enjoy this interview as much as I did.  As usual below you will find a couple of links from the show:

Building Smart Software

His email address: hmckew [at] bss-consultant.com

Howard's book on managing engineers

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HVAC 360 - Episode 027 - HVAC Theory about Heat Transfer

After an unexpected trip and a hectic holiday season I present the final episode of the year. In this episode I wanted to talk about the basics of HVAC Heat Transfer.  I talk about Conduction, Convection, and Radiation, the three modes of heat transfer in a easy to understand format.  I accomplish this partly by using the analogy of the four natural elements.  Don't get it? Just listen it should make sense.  Also while I was recording this episode I had the phone ring which I managed to edit out but it is not perfect.  If you can be the first to identify where in the recording you hear it I will give you a mention in a future episode.  Lastly, if you enjoy this episode pass it along to others.  Or if you have comments and suggestions pass them along to me as well.  Here's to a great new year, Thanks to everyone for listening. - Matt

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HVAC 360 - Episode 024 - Toilet Rooms: HVAC and Plumbing

In celebration of the World Toilet Organization's World Toilet Day, Saturday November 19th, I have decided to talk about toilet room design, covering both HVAC and Plumbing.  So often we forget in our professional lives that toilet rooms have a very emotional connection to us in our day to day lives.  I mention a study saying that a dirty toilet room can have a negative effect on the bottom line of consumer stores but I would extend that "negative impact" to dirty toilet rooms whereever you worked.  So the moral of my story is to take toilet room layout seriously, help architects avoid errors, and advocate for the owner.

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HVAC 360 - Episode 023 - HVAC at the University

Prof. Bill BahnflethThis week I talk with Penn State's Professor Bill Bahnfleth about the different options students have when it comes to HVAC and higher education. Specifically we talk about Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology, and Bill's favorite Architectural Engineering (okay, so he may be a little biased). The last of which, if you've never heard of it, is a real laser focused engineering degree that is not found everywhere but is certainly worth learning about.  Those of you who may be past your school years, use this episode as a chance to advise other young potential engineers that you come in contact with and forward it on to them.

Also as promised in the interview, if you are interested in contacting Bill he can be reached at wbahnfleth [at] engr.psu.edu or to view his program visit the Penn State Architectural Engineering website at

www.engr.psu.edu\ae

For more information about the Architectural Engineering Institute of ASCE here's that link too:

http://content.aeinstitute.org/inside/intro.html

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HVAC 360 - Episode 020 - Prefunctional Checklists for Building Commissioning

In this episode I talk about prefunctional checklists for building commissioning in relation to ASHRAE Guideline 0 and the PECI documents.  Most commissioning authorities have there own style of checklists but I breakdown the anatomy of these forms to help professionals understand or possibly improve their documents.

If you want more information regarding Portland Energy Conservation, Inc., visit www.PECI.org or visit the Commissioning Resource Center for the forms.

Or for ASHRAE Guideline 0, visit the ASHRAE Bookstore.

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HVAC 360 - Episode 014 - ASHRAE 189.1 with Dennis Stanke

In this episode we talk with current chair for ASHRAE's 189.1 committee regarding the current status of the standard and what to expect in the future.  If you're not familiar with ASHRAE's lastest "Green" Standard give this episode a listen.  Also feel free to pass on the episode to others that may find this material useful.

As with last week's podcast here are some quick links that hopefully should help you.

Here's a link to the ASHRAE 189.1-2009 standard at the ASHRAE Bookstore.

Here's a link to the ASHRAE 189.1-2009 User's Manual at the ASHRAE Bookstore.

I looked and didn't find anything specifically about 189.1 training. So I would suggest contacting ASHRAE directly for the next available training session. If you would like help, please contact me, and I will see what I can find out.

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Until next time know what you build, and share what you know.

HVAC 360 - Episode 013 - ASHRAE 90.1 with Steve Skalko

In this episode of HVAC 360 I talk with the current chair of the ASHRAE 90.1 committee Steve Skalko.  He not only gives us a little bit of his background but also the history of Standard 90.1.  This is a great episode to listen to if you have no experience with this standard and even if you do.  Feel free to share this episode with younger engineers or others.

Here's a link to the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 standard at the ASHRAE Bookstore.

Here's a link to the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 User's Manual at the ASHRAE Bookstore.

Finally, here's a link to ASHRAE's eLearning Course for 90.1-2004 this is for a previous version of ASHRAE 90.1 but it is available on-demand and doesn't require any travel. If you want to get in on a course for the current version of 90.1, I would suggest contacting ASHRAE for the next available training session.

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Until next time know what you build, and share what you know.

HVAC 360 - Episode 000 - Prologue

I am moving ahead with my new project the HVAC360 podcast.  Over the next month or so I am planning on migrating my Building Chatter files to my new podcast feed in iTunes.

In this episode I go into the who, what, and why of HVAC360.  As I see it, we are at a crossroads for the built environment.  We need to maintain our integrity as professionals, while at the same time using all the technology at our fingertips to learn about the contstruction and operation of buildings, so that we can be seen as advocates for buildings owners rather than employees washing our hands of every problem that arises and saying that all too familiar phrase, "That's not my job."

However, learning your "stuff" is really just the first part of becoming a professional.  Knowing how to do it better is the next step and my hope is that I can shed light on both of these components.

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Bacon and Our Future

Today was the first day at ASHRAE's Winter Conference 2011 in Las Vegas.  A lot was happening today, not only on the committee level, but also society had a full slate of all-day learning cour ses for the attendees to take (at an additional charge).  The theme for this years conference is Zero energy design, I can't help but see the irony of holding the conference in Las Vegas, the city of excess.The day ended for me at the "Meeting of the Members" Session, where Lynn Bellenger hosted the afternoon event. Lynn is the first women president that ASHRAE has had and she is doing a great job. For Lynn's opening Lynn Bellengerremarks she pointed out how much of an international organization that ASHRAE is becoming.  Some of the newest chapters include Nigeria and Pakistan, with the possibility of opening new chapters in Australia and India.  New in the bookstore is the ASHRAE standard 90.1-2010 User's Manual and ASHRAE is also coming out with an ebook version of "The Green Guide" for the ipad.  And if you are a student and looking for scholarship money, ASHRAE is proudly giving $100,000 annually to support the education of budding young engineering talent. 

The keynote speaker for the afternoon was Jack Bacon, PhD., a self-proclaimed rocket scientist, author, and futurist.  This is the second year in a row (to my knowledge) that ASHRAE has brought a futurist to keynote for the event.  Not that I'm complaining because I love seeing others forecast what is yet to come. Jack spoke about the Green Movement and how the rest of the world have or are in the process of developing their own Green Building Councils. So this is not a fad or something that is maintaining a status quo but rather a rapidly growing trend, requiring that we live in tune with our environment.  Jack also suggested that to innovate in the are of sustainability that we turn our attention to third world countries.  This is important in the sense that in order to survive they must think smarter about the resources they use.  The reinforces my belief that we need to change they way we live and not just try to make incremental improvements to our existing technology.  We need to innovate and Dr. Bacon stated that the greatest change often happens at the fringes.  This is where people can go for broke and be as disruptive as they want, they have nothing to lose but have the passion to win. In a Net-Zero future our goal is to use as little energy as we can while still maintaining a high standard of living. This increasingly harder in a world with accelerating population growth and a finite amount of energy resources to go around.  Things could get ugly.  Jack did point out some positive things, technologies with a lot of potential, namely: Bio-Gas processes using garbage and waste, Printed electronics, energy harvesting (think hand crank flashlights), and a Star Rotor (www.starrotor.com) for high efficiency.  The moral of this story is think smarter, innovate as though your resources where extremely expensive, before they actually are.

Attack of the 20-foot Maintenance Man!

Now it may be of some surprise to designers and engineers that HVAC rooftop equipment needs to be serviced, so I have come up with the solution: genetically-enhanced maintenance people that are 20 feet high.  Alright, so my solution has some flaws, like door handles being broken off the AC units by those giant hands, but seriously now, why such a drastic idea.  Two reasons and both reared their ugly heads recently on my projects, namely roof and equipment access.

Let’s talk about roof access first.  I know it’s not the engineer’s job to specify and layout roof access, but it should be at least reviewed by them.  Try to put yourself in the shoes of the maintenance staff when they go to service the equipment or when something goes wrong.  Typically this does not happen on a nice sunny Tuesday afternoon, it will usually occur in the middle of the night in a downpour or a blizzard.  And to add insult to injury, work has to be performed in those conditions on roofs that are made from that white, plastic, slicker-than-a-greased-pig roofing material.  All these conditions can quickly turn a simple situation into a worker’s compensation claim, with the maintenance or repair still left undone.

ACTION ITEM #1: In design, check all roof surfaces that have roof drains or HVAC equipment and make sure that you can reach all areas without carrying a ladder around.  Remember even a three foot elevation change can be dangerous in some weather conditions.  This check can be effectively done by checking the architectural roof plan and making sure that they have permanent ladders noted where you would require them.  Also, in addition to checking for changes in elevation look for access to the roof itself.  Man-doors are preferred, but a hatch and a ladder also work.

Second is the HVAC equipment access.  In the age of high-efficiency systems, I have seen my fair share of the heat-wheel type energy recovery units; these are my number one access offenders.  These AC units can be as tall as a double-decker bus, with a fan, motor, filters and possibly other components located on the top deck, and all of which require maintenance.  Add in that white roof and the inclement weather and your recipe for disaster shows up again!

ACTION ITEM #2:  Also in design, check the height on the rooftop HVAC air-handlers (cooling towers, chillers and anything else for that matter). If they require a ladder for proper service then consider adding a permanent catwalk system.  If that isn’t possible because of budget reasons, try to get good walk-way pads all around the unit that aren’t slippery and add some permanent ladder tie-off points to the equipment casing.  Other ideas may include removable or moveable scaffolding, but a lot depends on what can be easily moved to the roof and the available storage.  I would also check out what OSHA has to say about this as part of your due diligence.

These simple things are easy enough to gloss over in your efforts to get you designs out the door but if you want your design to stand the test of time, with consistently low energy consumption, it has to be maintained and for that to happen you have to make it easy for the people working on you equipment to properly access to it.