Business Energy June 2015

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Effi ciency

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Managing Our Way to the Internet of Energy

Engines and GensetsSwitchgear: Safety and Matters of Space

Perspectives on Lighting Retrofits

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Features

JUNE 2015 | VOLUME 13, NO. 4TABLE OF CONTENTS

10 A Healthy Dose of EfficiencyHospitals may prioritize medical equipment, but cant ignore their unique HVAC needs. By David C. Richardson

20 Switchgear: Safety and Matters of Space Arc flash prevention, mobility, and regulatory complianceBy Matt M. Casey

25 Perspectives on Lighting RetrofitsImproved efficiency and safety, lowered costs and maintenanceBy Carol Brzozowski

32 Engines and GensetsThe latest advances, with more to comeBy Daniel P. Duffy

GENSETSpg 32

HOSPITALSpg 10

LIGHTINGpg 25

SWITCHGEARpg 20

Continued on page 6


BUSINESS ENERGY (ISSN 1546-9751 [print], ISSN 1546-976X [online]) is published seven times a year: Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May, June, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, and Nov/Dec by Forester Media Inc., 2946 De La Vina Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105, 805-682-1300, fax: 805-682-0200, e-mail: [email protected], website: www.forester.net. Periodical Postage at Santa Barbara, CA, and additional mailing offices. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the Publisher. Entire contents 2015 by Forester Media Inc. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to BUSINESS ENERGY, 440 Quadrangle Drive Ste E, Bolingbrook, IL 60440. Changes of address can be completed online at www.businessenergy.net/subscribe or mailed to 440 Quadrangle Drive Ste E, Bolingbrook, IL 60440; please provide your mailing label or old address in addition to new address. Include zip code or postal code. Allow two months for change. Editorial contributions are welcome. All material must be accompanied by stamped return envelopes and will be handled with reasonable care. However, publishers assume no responsibility for safety of artwork, photographs, or manuscripts. Every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy, but the publishers cannot accept responsibility for the correctness or accuracy of information supplied herein or for any opinion expressed. Subscription Rates: seven issues of BUSINESS ENERGY are $76 per year in US ($95 in Canada, $160 elsewhere). Send the completed subscription card with a check to BUSINESS ENERGY, 440 Quadrangle Drive Ste E, Bolingbrook, IL 60440, fax with credit card info to 413/513-6380, or order online at www.businessenergy.net/subscribe. Reprints: All editorial material in BUSINESS ENERGY is available for reprints. Call 805-679-7604 or e-mail [email protected] for additional information. List Rentals: 1-800-529-9020 ext. 5003, [email protected]. Back issues may be ordered (depending on avail-able inventory) for $15 per copy in US ($20 in Canada, $35 elsewhere). Send written requests for back issues along with check or money order in US funds payable to BUSINESS ENERGY, PO Box 3100, Santa Barbara, CA 93130, USA. Provide address for where the copies should be shipped. Allow six weeks for delivery.

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40 Managing Our Way to the Internet of EnergyEnabling granular, real time, actionable information, and controlBy Mark Scott Lavin

EMSpg 40

Features continued

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Editors Comments 8Products & Services Directory 47Project Profile 48Spotlight 51ShowCase 52Marketplace 57Advertisers Index 57Reader Profile 58

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EDITORS COMMENTS Nancy Gross

Why go to great efforts to manage energy and the processes that employ it? Even if energy engineering is your passion, you probably also enjoy having well-performing, fresh, bright spaces where the whole of your life can go on. We may love the outdoors, but most of us spend more time indoors. Our buildings are key to the quality of our lives.

I was reading up on the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) component of HVAC, and my main takeaway is to note the symbiotic relationship between IAQ and the structures we spend our time in. A poorly man-aged or maintained structure will have poor IAQ, and poor IAQ will degrade the structure. It may make sense to defi ne buildings as either healthy or sick, and this can apply even to the buildings where we go to have sickness alleviated. Thus, our focus on hospitals in this issue can offer prescriptions for other kinds of facilities that serve the needs of people, too, because wellness should ripple outward from hospitals whenever possible.

When people are choosing a fi eld of study and land on health care, they will often be applauded for taking up a noble profession; they are also likely to be told that they are making a smart move, that these careers are always in demand, that they can fi nd employment wherever they go. Likewise hospitals and health care facilities are signifi cant businesses in all communities everywhere, creating many kinds of work.

Hospitals are energy intensive with their around the clock opera-tions and specialized equipment. Vendors in the energy space who fi ll orders for these properties may be looking at sizeable accounts, as well as reputation-building opportunities. While patient diagno-sis, treatment and safety are foremost, the fi xtures and systems that defi ne the space do integrate with health concerns. Also, health care companies are fi nding it important to keep up with trends that affect other kinds of industries; some are showing that energy effi ciency can be achieved without compromising health and safety.

Our cover story, David Richardsons A Healthy Dose of Effi -ciency (page 10), highlights the specifi c IAQ needs of hospitals, with reporting on technologies that are also employed in other commercial, industrial, and institutional settings. When I spoke with Kevin DeMaster, designer of utility rebate programs, about one of the technologies profi led, Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF), I was informed that these use a third to half as much energy to produce the same result as conventional HVAC, and there is no cycling, making the processes, he says, quieter than a human whisper.

Many innovations in HVAC in the US, such as VRF, are not as new as they seem, but have been used in Europe for decades. They often incor-porate passive processes; such peaceful systems speak to the topics of health and wellness.

Saving money is important to the governing boards of many health care facilities, and even if other kinds of equipment are prioritized, this is an argument for effi ciency, too. We have a submission from Kansas City Power and Light that discusses an outdoor lighting upgrade at a rural Missouri hospital which led to signifi cant sav-ings on costs and energy (page 48).

Effi ciency rebates made the LED project even more attractive to the hospital leadership.

Our article on engines and gensets (page 32) is certainly relevant to the health care industry, where critical power couldnt be more critical, both for the preservation of patient lives and patient records. Hurricane Sandy brought attention to the need for gensets and their fuel to be in the best possible shape and location should they become all that a building has to rely on.

Shelterit is among our basic needs. Moreover, we rely on buildings for our quality of life, and buildings rely on us for theirs. I propose that an old standard can be a fi tting toast for ribbon cutting ceremonies at hospitalsand other propertieseverywhere, but it should be said once facing the building, and again facing the crowd: To your health! BE

Editorial Advisory BoardDavid BaldwinPresidentAquarian Technology SystemsLexington, OH

Jeff DummermuthDirector, Energy and EngineeringBig Lots Stores Inc. Columbus, OH

J. Michael EdwardsPrincipalPower Recruiting GroupHouston, TX

Justin Fortmeyer, P.E.Project ManagerPatton Air ConditioningFresno, CA

Jim MoxleyAssistant Vice President of Facility ManagementHealthsouth Corp.Birmingham, AL

James W. JT Thielman, CFEDirector of OperationsSMGSeaGate Convention Centre/Huntington Center ArenaToledo, OH

David Van HoldeSenior Engineer & Project ManagerSBW Consulting Inc.Seattle, WA

Barry WorthingtonExecutive Director, USEnergy AssociationWashington DC

Michael ZimmerExecutive in Residence & Senior FellowOhio UniversityAthens, OH


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Healthy Dose HOSPITALS MAY PRIORITIZE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, BUT CANT IGNORE THEIR UNIQUE HVAC NEEDS.

BY DAVID C. RICHARDSON

HOSPITALS


Hospitals use a lot of energy, typically, twice as much as the equivalent size offi ce build-ing, says Travis English, engineering man-ager for Kaiser Permanentes nationwide network of health care facilities. While he says energy consumption for the typical offi ce building might run about 90K BTU per square-foot annually, the average hospital in contrast, consumes 250K BTU per square foot yearly.

Hospitals, overall, are the second-most energy-intensive commercial buildings in the US (topped only by supermar-kets), and the health care industry is responsible for 8% of the countrys greenhouse gas emissions, according to Kathy Ger-wig, Vice President of Employee Safety, Health, and Wellness at Kaiser Permanente.

With around 600 medical facilities under Kaiser Perma-

nentes purview, its not diffi cult to see why English says from his perspective, Every project is an energy project.

Stephanie Buckler, Esquire, an Outreach Specialist for Healthier Hospitals Initiative, says working toward energy effi ciency is a chance for hospitals across the nation to save signifi cantly and improve their bottom line. She wrote in a blog post, Energy Star estimates that nationally, every $1 savings in annual energy costs is equivalent to an increase of $20 in annual revenue (based on a 5% net operating margin). When a hospital has a net margin of 1.5%, every $1 energy savings is worth $67 in increased revenue.

Most of us would not be surprised to see a hospitals investments in helping people resolve health issues take pre-cedence over energy management; hospitals are in business to save lives, not to haggle over BTU expenditures. Rightfully, they are not bashful about their caregiving mission goals,

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however some hospitals are taking a closer look at where energy effi ciency can help fulfi ll obligations towards patients, while at the same time helping to bolster the bottom line.

Patient health and safety is the driving force behind everything hospitals do, says Melissa Baker, Vice Presi-dent of Technical Solutions with Practice Greenhealtha nonprofi t membership organization founded on the principles of positive environmental stewardship and best practices by organizations in the health care community.

Nonetheless, she says, hospitals are also gradually moving towards adopting sustainable and less energy-intensive practices, with a number of them going after Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certifi cation now that standards for LEED for Health Care were published in 2011.

Baker, however, says that one of the main reasons hospi-tals may hesitate to take steps towards energy effi ciency is the assumption that specifying investments in energy-effi cient initiatives and products will be cost prohibitive.

According to Practice Greenhealths online guide, Best Practices in Energy Effi ciency, Heating and cooling systems account for a signifi cant portion of a buildings energy usetypically about a quarter, and represent one place where hospitals are fi nding almost instantaneous gains in effi ciency from new investments large and small.

English, of Kaiser, amplifi es the point. Although he con-

cedes that hospitals use as much or more plug in equipment than a typical offi ce building he says, We have gigantic HVAC and most research shows that most of our energy use goes towards heating and cooling.

But theres a lot more to meeting patient comfort and safety needs than temperature control. There is a big empha-sis on indoor air quality and a lot of science now developing on occupant comfort, he adds.

According to Tom Rice, Director of Sales for Desiccant Wheel Products at SEMCO, its not temperature that makes the biggest difference in patient care but air quality, and air-quality improvements can also lead to measurable results in energy effi ciency.

Adding Up Cool PointsTom Malloy, CEO of the Phoenix Design Group in Nash-ville, TN, that designed a new surgical suite for Floyd Medi-cal Center, says consultants face a dilemma when trying to encourage health care facilities to integrate energy-efficient measures in their capital planning and design strategies. Although his firm performs 90% of its work for clients from the health care arena, he says rarely do projects come to the table with the primary goal of achieving energy efficiency. Hospitals are not simply looking for energy-efficient heating and cooling, but instead are seeking better patient results, and energy-efficient technology enters the picture when they realize its not just the heat, its the humidity.

Rice explains that along with temperature control, indoor air quality is fast becoming a focal point for all kinds of build-ing design projects and this is especially true for hospitals and health care environments. He says a key component providing indoor comfort is control of humidity, and, in hospitals,


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Its not temperature that makes the biggest difference in patient care but air quality, and air-quality improvements can lead to measurable results in energy efficiency.

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Business Energy June 2015 13

controlling humidity is of critical importance for health. According to Rice, with the evolving dynamic in the

sphere of health care fi nancing and insurance, the number one thing hospitals began to look at was mortality rates, insur-ance costs, and the overall health of their buildings. He says that research shows that mortality rates are lower in buildings with effective air quality control.

But more specifi cally, Rice says the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (AHSRAE) 170 code Ventilation of Health Care Facili-ties specifi es a temperature of 62F, and relative humidity between 20% and 60% for such facilities. Rice says however, insurers of those facilities are generally more conservative than the code specifi es, preferring their clients maintain less than 50% relative humidity under the premise that high

humidity ranges promote the growth of microorganisms, some of which may be harmful to health.

Within an economic climate that poses limitations on fi nancing available across all business sectors, the health care industry is no exception. Malloy says there is always competi-tion for funds.

Every hospital is competing for capital, he says. The question is: Where is the best use of capital? The place where we fi nd diffi culty is that hospitals are not so energized by the idea of the newest high-effi ciency chiller as they are by the newest imaging systems. In a head-to-head competition, the imaging systems frequently prevail.

Nonetheless, Malloy says the economics of energy-effi -cient infrastructure are impressive when placed in the proper context. We show them not just the upfront cost, but [also] the life cycle costs of the piece, he says.

From a business perspective, he says that energy-effi cient enhancements can readily generate a 25% rate of return over a life cycle.

In contrast, he adds, it is very rare that a hospital can show anywhere near that kind of return for other types of capital investments.

The unyielding demands for accurate dew point, humid-ity, and temperature control in surgical suites creates a chal-lenge for any engineer aspiring to deliver effi ciency and opti-mum space conditions, but the Phoenix Design Group Inc. has become adept at meeting this challenge. An air-quality control


enhancement designed by Phoenix Design Group increases the energy effi ciency of Floyd Medical Centers new Surgery Suite HVAC system, while making a vital contribution to patient comfort and safety.

In hospitals, surgical suites demand strict control of temperature and dewpoint to maintain comfort and control perspiration, especially for surgical teams clad in the requisite infection control garments, Rice says. In addition, pinpoint control of air temperature and humidity param-

eters gives surgeons an additional tool to specify the precise environment required to optimize the outcomes for whatever type of surgical procedure the patient may need.

According to John Wade, Senior Mechanical Engineer for the Phoenix Design Group, the low temperature and relative humidity needed in the surgi-cal suite environment makes it diffi cult to rely on conventional refrigeration alone. The Phoenix Design Group consulted with surgical staff before setting the design parameters for the new suite. Based on the feedback they received, they set out to design a system that could maintain 62F at a relative humidity of 45%.

His fi rm opted for SEMCOs

Pinnacle primary ventilation system with integral energy recovery when designing the surgery centers mechani-cal system. Rice says that in a critical environment like a health care facility, it is preferable to control humidity throughout the entire building and not just the individual targeted suites.

Without vapor barriers, moisture can move readily from areas with high temperature to areas with a lower tem-perature, making it diffi cult to main-tain consistent adherence to specifi ed air-quality standards throughout the

facility, says Rice.The optimal situation from a

humidity control design standpoint, he says, is when you can design the entire building to a common dew point of 50% relative humidity.

Rice says SEMCO Pinnacle allows designers to do this while increasing the effi ciency of the HVAC system by removing the necessity to heat or cool unwanted water vapor in the air, reduc-ing the demand and energy load on the HVAC system to reach the desired tem-perature set point. In addition, remov-ing excessive moisture from the indoor air improves air quality and enhances health outcomes by discouraging micro-organisms that require a moist environ-ment in order to propagate.

But Wade says the challenge remains of communicating the mon-etary benefi ts of energy effi cient practices early in the design process. With any project, its all about the fi rst costs. Often, he says, By the time the engineers are brought on board, the customers have already overestimated the scope of the project and underesti-mated the budget.

Wade believes this mode of deci-sion-making complicates the making of the tradeoffs that might be needed to pair energy effi ciency along with the

essential core goals of the health care institutions: patient safety and health.

There is a solution, however. Wade says that if health care institutions are really serious about getting the highest effi -ciency possible for the facility, those discussions need to happen before the budget is decided.

Comfort at a DiscountFred Rogers directed his Rush system design team in 2009 to plan for the John C. Stennis Memo-rial Hospital, focusing on two important elements. For thishis fourth criti-cal access hospitalhe emphasized patient com-fort and energy savings,

both of which centered on the facilitys HVAC system. Rogers is Rush Health Systems veteran vice pres-ident, chief resource officer, and facil-ity manager. He says for three years at Rushs hospital in downtown Meridian, energy costs had steadily risen at an adjusted $25,000 each year. When the institution added a Womens Services facility on the third floor in two wings in 2008, he installed his first Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mitsubi-shi Electric) Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system for the new construction.

With its unique, ductless, two-pipe, simultaneous cooling and heating capa-bility taking the load off my chillers, I was able to realize a savings of $36,000 a year. That was very gratifying. With this outstanding track record, I ordered

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SEMCOs Ascendant active desiccant energy recovery unit at a hospital


erly executed vestibules provide many hospitals with a first line of defense against paying twice for heating and cooling, Berner Internationals Steve Benes says vestibules are unreliable and inefficient when they are needed most. Installing strategically placed air curtains can take the process a step further, retaining hard fought gains in efficiency by preventing intrusion from unwanted outdoor air.

When the University of Pittsburgh

Medical Center (UPMC) set out to make its $252 million Monroeville, PA, facility the most sustainable of its 30-hospital network, its design team delivered a building thats saving an estimated $350,000 to $500,000 annu-ally in energy. That design team for the 302,000-square-foot, 155-bed space included Joseph T. Badalich, corporate construction project director, UPMC; and architect Timothy Spence, princi-pal, BBH Design, from Raleigh, NC.

my team to install the very same system at Stennis.

Rather than expending vast sums of energy cooling and heating ventila-tion ductwork and pushing air back and forth all over the building, Mit-subishis two pipe VRF technology circulates chilled refrigerant directly to air handlers situated on the ceiling of each patients room. There, it can be used to either chill or warm the air in the room directly as the patient or caregiver desires.

Stan Williamson, a senior project manager with McLain Plumbing & Electrical Services Inc., in Philadelphia, MS, explains the system: The entire patient wing is a ductless installation. Every patient room has its own cool-ing system and controls in the form of a ceiling-recessed fan coil and remote controller. These intelligent indoor fan coils are connected to the six outdoor units through a series of electrical wires and piping for the refrigerant, all of which fi ts neatly into a three-inch space that runs concealed along the ceiling to the outdoor unit.

The Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating VRF system can be equipped with a remote control capability to give the patient or caregiver on demand precision control of the temperature settings for each room.

In addition to its effi cacy, Williams says a ductless system simplifi es instal-lation, while individual controls for temperature and humidity enhance the patient experience.

Here in Mississippi, we have a very annoying wet heat, says Williamson. This wet heat clings to the body. For patient care and comfort, the impor-tance of dehumidifi cation cannot be overemphasized in a hospital environ-ment. Mitsubishi Electrics VRF dry mode is one tool that has helped remove humidity in the patient care rooms.

Opening a Door to EfficiencyEven a well-designed air-conditioning and heating system can provide scant gains in efficiency if the entire invest-ment in reconditioned air can simply escape through the front or back door any time a patient, visitor, or facility staff member enters or exits the hospi-tal. While carefully planned and prop-

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Our HVAC system design exceeds ASHRAE 90.1-2004 requirements, and when combined with reduced electrical and light-ing loads, it's saving an esti-mated 18% in energy, versus the standard minimum con-struction requirements of a standard HVAC system, says Matthew J. Stevens, senior project manager, CJL Engineering, the project's mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineer-ing fi rm.

While some engineers rely only on major HVAC equipment to rack up LEED credits, CJL sees every green opportunity as critical to building performance. CJL specifi ed 11 air curtains for energy conservation by pro-tecting all entrances from outdoor air infi ltration. Ten of the air curtains are in-ceiling models that appear as fl ush ceiling grilles and supplement BBHs aesthetic lobby design. To protect air quality, the air curtains all draw clean air from the lobby through an integral diffuser, as opposed to models that need a supply duct or claim air from potentially contaminated, unconditioned air spaces above the ceiling.

Besides energy savings, the air curtains all have electric heaters that are critical for lobby indoor air comfort. The heaters are effi ciently controlled with a delay that continues spot heating at a lower air velocity until the doorway areas set point temperatures are reached.

The 11th air curtain is a conventional model mounted above the emergency room (ER) doorway that saves energy, but also prevents infi ltration of any idling ER vehicle fumes, which is a common hospital industry indoor air-quality (IAQ) problem.

According to a study funded by Berner International and performed by the independent validation fi rm Blue Ridge Numerics in Charlottesville, VA, air curtains use less supple-mental heat than vestibule heaters, enhance employee comfort, reduce liability by maintaining drier entryway fl oors during inclement weather, keep traffi c fl ow unhindered, and improve sanitation by reducing insect entry. According to Benes, air curtains provide energy savings year round, whether during the cooling or heating seasons, and customers can see a 1-year to 1--year payback on the initial investment.

The UPMC design teams green design is LEED Silver certifi ed. It includes a combination chilled water loop and

rooftop/variable air volume design. Three high-effi ciency, 750-ton water-cooled chillers by Trane; three 9,900-Mbh boil-ers by Bryan Steam LLC; and one 6,000-Mbh domestic hot water boiler by Leslie Controls helped in capturing the LEED designation. The boilers operate ultra effi ciently due to variable frequency drives.

CJL also specifi ed three 750-ton cooling towers by Bal-timore Aircoil Co., fi ve custom rooftop units ranging from 68,000 to 80,000-cfm each by TMI Climate Solutions, and pumps by Bell & Gossett.

BBHs unitized building envelope features low U-factor glass from PPG Industries, Pittsburgh. Reducing the heat load enabled CJL to use smaller mechanical equipment, but attain the same indoor air com-fort effi cacy.

The UPMC project was awarded Project of the Year honors in the Commercial Category for 2013 from the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania, PA.

This is certainly one of the most, if not the most, sustainable hospital designs in the Mideast region, says Badalich, who oversaw the projects construction for UPMC.

Air Quality in the LimelightUltraviolet (UV) light comes in three varieties. UV-A is widely known as the black light that makes the once popular, but nonetheless tacky, velvet posters appear to glow in the dark. Then there is UV-B, which reaches the earth from the sun and contributes to the sunburn that affects avid wor-shippers; and finally there is UV-C, an invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, also generated by the sun. UV-C propagates at just the right electromagnetic frequency to dis-rupt DNA within the cells of living organisms.

Fortunately, our planets dense and complex atmosphere topped with a protective ozone layer fi lters UV-C from sun-light completely before it can reach the Earths surface cause any damage to people. However, a company called Triatomic Environmental Incorporated has developed a product called Fresh-Aire UV that uses artifi cially generated UV-C to enhance indoor air quality and improve the operational effi -ciency of ventilation systems.

Mike Walrath of Triatomic Environmental Inc., says the cooling surfaces of air-conditioning coils are especially sus-ceptible to the accumulation of layers of biofi lms, arising from

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colonies of organisms such as mold and bacteria that tend to cling for refuge to the cool dark recesses of air-conditioning grills and ductwork. These aggregations of biofi lms can have a negative impact on both indoor air quality and energy effi -ciency, while adding to increased operating costs for mainte-nance and cleaning air-conditioning coils in a facility.

Walrath explains that mold and slime of even a minimal thickness can act as a sweater insulating cooling coils, forcing the chilled water to struggle to maintain the proscribed room temperature set point.

Walrath says Fresh-Aire solves the problem by eliminat-ing microbial growth in treated areas. Broadly speaking, he says because in nature UVC light from the sun is fi ltered com-pletely by the ozone layer of the atmosphere, living thingsincluding bacteriahave never had to deal with UVC, and hence have developed no evolutionary defense mechanisms against it. Since no earth-bound organisms have any defense against UVC it can act as an ideal disinfectant when applied to surfaces that might otherwise represent safe haven for undesir-able microorganisms.

Shane Lutz, of Henderson Engineers, says over the past 10 years, UV germicidal irradiation (UVGI) technologies have been building a reputation as irreplaceable specifi cations for the health and safety of patients and staff. Weve seen the effects of no UV lights in older HVAC systems, says Lutz, and theres a tendency for coil microorganism growth that you defi nitely wouldnt want distributed throughout a critical environment such as an operating room, or any other health care environment.

In designing the ventilation system for Geary Hospital his fi rm specifi ed Fresh-Aire UVGI units to help keep coils clean and ventilation optimal. When installed, UVGI alters an organisms DNA and disables the reproductive capabilities of any microbe passing through its UV fi eld in the air handler; the microbes later become entrapped in each units High Effi -ciency Particulate Arrestor (HEPA) fi lters manufactured by Camfi l Farr. Combined with each air handlers 30% pre-fi lter and 65% fi lter, the HEPA fi lters 99.9% particle-free fi ltration helps prevent particles of microbes or mold from compro-mising patient care. The absence of particulate buildup also reduces the maintenance costs for shutting down and cleaning ventilation system coils and ductwork.

Besides maintenance cost savings, UVGI also weighs heav-ily into each HVAC units energy effi ciency. Industry studies reveal that coils void of biological growth have unrestricted static pressure, reduced blower electric load, and optimum heat transfer. For example, a thin growth of biofi lm on coil surfaces can reduce the free area and increase air velocity up to 9%. Cleaner coils also deliver up to a 30% increase in cooling capacity when compared to dirty coils, according to Michael Wixson, principal, Associated Air Prod-ucts, a manufacturers representative that assisted with the UVGI specifi cation.

According to Walrath, the health care industry is beginning to see a growing interaction between infection control and engineering departments to the benefi t of both groups, and he says a Fresh-Aire

system installation could enable a return on investment in as few as 612 months.

Permanent ImprovementEven with the substantial gains that can be realized in return, energy efficiency is often not the direct objective of capital investments in hospital equipment; however, thoughtful investments in efficiency can also contribute to health efficacy and patient health and safety.

One of the leaders in the industry making a push for sustainable practices in health care is Kaiser Permanente. The giant health care non-profi t, has committed to LEED Gold Certifi cation for all of its new construction. Melissa Baker of Practice Greenhealth says Kaiser Permanentes health system has been phenomenally successful in moving towards its sustainability goal with the minimal cost of 1% net added to their projects.

She adds that the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is beginning to create incentives for more frequent discussions of sustainable and energy-effi cient practices in the early stages of capital investment planning that can lead to fruitful energy effi ciency projects in health care facilities.

LEED version 4 contains a planning credit, which she says encourages everyone to come to the table, and the leadership in sustainable initiatives in hospitals can come from a variety of sources from engineering staff to line employees. We know there is a payback from the energy effi ciency savings that can really reinforce the desire to get there, continues Baker. One of the biggest ways to do that is to get into integrated design and integrated operations, where you have everybody at the table, so you know upfront people will be able to take advan-tage of those savings that youre going to be seeing and that youll get the outcomes you want for staff and other people. We cared enough about that to make it a credit in LEED ver-sion 4 to bring people to the table to start the planning process early on. There is defi nitely a need to have everyone on board teach them how to use the space well and then to really see effi cient operations.

Travis English of Kaiser Permanente says, Were trying to look at building energy consumption wherever we can. Its always a multiple contingent strategy. For us, energy con-servation is a health issue; sustainability is a health issue; our carbon footprint is a health issuea public health issue. We want to be good players in that fi eld, and were looking at it from both a measure-by-measure level, and also at the stra-tegic level. Were involved in the day-to-day operating of the lighting system, all the way up to advocating where the future of codes and regulations needs to be.

With about 600 medical offi ces across the nation, English says, Kaiser is a not-for-profi t, so when we can make improve-

ments in energy effi ciency, its a direct contribution to lowering costs. We believe energy effi ciency is aligned with better patient experience; we believe we can achieve both goals simultaneously. BE

Writer David C. Richardson is a frequent contributor to Forester publications.

BEFor related articles:www.businessenergy.net/facilities

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Safety and Matters of SpaceARC FLASH PREVENTION, MOBILITY, AND REGULATORY COMPLIANCE

BY MATT M. CASEY

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In November 2014, a large North American utility experienced a quiet disaster. A month earlier, third-party contractors at the new power distribution center installed a cable improperly. When the utility energized the facility, the cable triggered an arc event. Uncontrolled, it could have severely damaged the building, its equipment, and the workers inside.

Robert Kowalik, vice president of medium-voltage switch-gear at ABBs Lake Mary, FL, facility, estimated that the dam-age caused by the arc could have cost the utility $1.5 million to repair, and it would have taken six months to get the Power Distribution Center (PDC) running again. That timeline would have created hardship for the utility, which had a Janu-ary 1 operation deadline to receive tax incentives. In addition, the building held 14 workers, whose injuriesor deathscould have compounded the fi nancial, morale, and public relations cost of the disaster.

But the utility had purchased arc-resistant equipment from ABB. The switchgear contained the entire energy dis-

charge inside of a 2B certifi ed cubicle.Replacement of parts and re-energization of the equip-

ment took only eight weeks with minimal costs to the utility [less than $50K], says Kowalik. And, Nothing happened to anyone. I dont think anybody lost a single hair.

He says that stories like this are why arc-resistant equip-ment makes up a signifi cantand growingportion of ABBs sales. The company introduced some of the fi rst arc-resistant equipment to the US in 1994. Now nearly all (95%) of the equipment the company sells in Europe is arc resistant. Kowalik expects the North American market to also migrate to the new, safer style of equipment.

Arc resistant switchgear may cost more to purchase, but it has enormous potential to save money over the long run. Fiber optics in the switchgear detect arc events, and ABBs earthing switches can interrupt an arc event in less than four milliseconds, Kowalik says. Once tripped, the earthing switches channel the bulk of the uncontrolled energy harm-lessly into the ground.

Switchgear:


That safety measure can prevent damage and injury on a huge scale. According to the Department of Labor, hundreds of workers suffer electrical injuries per year with more than 130 fatalities. But arc-resistant switchgear also offers another signifi cant benefi t: It improves reliability. When arc events remain contained to a single 2B cubicle, nearby equipment remains in working condition and often continues working, undisturbed.

While ABB may have been a leader, other companies have taken their own approaches to containing arc fl ash events. When Silicon Valley Power installed a new distribu-tion substation serving an area that accounts for up to 20% of the utilitys loadincluding a large sports entertainment complex and multiple data centersthey bought arc fl ash systems from Eaton that monitor cable and bus faults inside the switchgear. The system achieves a similar result to ABBs arc-resistant switchgear by shutting off the affected bus/breaker in the event of an arc fl ash. The system even allows the rest of the substation to continue running uninterrupted.

Eaton also introduced new low-voltage switchgear in March that helps safeguard workers from dangerous arc-ing faults when they access switchgear instrumentation and control compartments. The two-part design allows the circuit breaker panel door to remain closed while workers access control wires. This lets the gear retain its arc-resistant rating during use by protecting workers against potential internal arcing faults.

Taking a similar idea in a different direction, Anord Critical Power Inc. constructs substations and switchrooms for its customers that use compartmentalization to place physical barriers around gear. This keeps fl ashing gear from damaging other gear or injuring workers in the facility.

Compartmentalization helps from the point of safety, says Rob Sweaney, vice president of operations and general manager for Anord Critical Power. It keeps people from being exposed to arc fl ashes.

In some cases, the people the gear protects may also be the cause for those arc fl ashes. IEEE has stated that 88% of faults are due to human error and 95% of those faults occur during routine maintenance, says John Day, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Anord Critical Power.

Sometimes, these mistakes occur when workers incor-rectly assume that gear is de-energized when its not. But sometimes workers drop wires or tools and cause a fault. In these cases, a physical barrier between the device the worker maintains, and other nearby gear can prevent the mistake from becoming an accident report.

Day puts it like this: Compartmentalization improves personal safety by reducing the potential for human error while performing maintenance.

Tighter SpacesIn addition to arc flash monitoring and mitigation systems, the Silicon Valley Power project faced a space challenge. The lot itself presented an awkward footprint that was made tighter by necessary safety clearances from the edge of the property and between pieces of equipment. The site also had to comply with Californias environmental and landscaping

regulations, which further reduced available space.As national power demands grow, utilities and other large

electricity producers face a space crunch. Utilities or facilities managers are often confi ned to the electrical rooms and vacant property they already have. Even when they can acquire more space, real estate prices in cities like San Francisco and New York make that prospect prohibitively expensive.

We see a lot of pressure from customers both in the industrial and utility sectors to reduce size of their electrical equipment, says Kowalik. Many companies are adding new equipment to the existing rooms and buildings or are replac-ing existing equipment with more voltage or current density.

As a result, ABB has worked to make smaller equip-ment that can handle larger loads. The companys ReliaGear ND, for example, offers a two-high breaker design for 15-kV switchgear applications up to 2,000 amperes (A) of the con-tinuous current and 31.5 kilo-amperes (kA) of the interrupt-ing current. All of this fi ts in a 26-inch-wide frame.

Anord Critical Power Inc. has also taken a tighter-space approach to its switchgear, but the company focuses nar-rowly on the data center business. By using compartmental-ization instead of air gaps to separate switches from each other, theyve compressed the space required for gear in their data center substations and switchrooms. It reduces the depth a lot in the switchgear, says Sweaney.

Typically, Anords switchgear setupswhich can use break-ers from all major manufacturersare 12 inches shallower

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SWITCHGEAR

than they would be with air gaps, he says. Depend-ing on the customers needs, this can make it easier for Anord to fi t new gear into an existing electrical room, leave space for future expansion, or leave space for employees to enter and work in the room comfortably.

For Pioneer Power Solutions, their approach to tight spaces has more to do with installation than equipment. Were pretty fl exible; we dont have a standardized product, says Vince Visconti, general manager of Pioneers strategic sales group.

The company recently completed a project for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, he says, in which they had to fi t a 4,000-A, 480-V emergency switchboard into a particularly awkward equipment room. The agency built the room on eight parking spaces in a garage. In addition to its L-shaped foot-print, the second section had clearance of just 80 inches due to overhead pipes.

The challenge of cramming more equipment into the same (or less) space has grown, Visconti says, because new codes have made the new equip-ment physically larger. New UL standards, for example, require more gutter space on switchgear. (See the section later in this article, titled Regulatory Environment.)

Pioneer Power Solutions, Visconti says, gener-ally gets around these problems by building custom busses and cabinets for off-the-shelf breakers from Eaton, GE, Siemens, or Square-D. You can basically confi gure the custom gear any way you want, he explains. Within physical limitations, obviously.

But Pioneer doesnt work magic. Youre talking about cutting inches, he says, not taking 20 feet worth of equipment and stuffi ng it into a 10-foot space.

And custom work isnt for everyone, Visconti adds. Pioneer charges less for custom work than other companies do, but custom work still comes at a premium. If a utility or facility manager needs standard indoor switchgear and switchboards, he says, the majors can do that pretty well.

Mobility and Mirrored DesignIn addition to working in tight spaces, Kowalik says his customers increasingly need substations that can physically move on short notice.

Customers working in frack-ing or in the natural gas industry often need substations quickly. But their use at a particular site might be short-lived, making a traditional install inconvenientespecially when they may suddenly be needed on another fi eld. So, ABB and other switchgear suppliers can now deliver their equipment that fi ts in pre-fabricated buildings known as E-Houses.

It takes days or a few hours to install this on the site, says Kowalik. You can [also] have it on a skid, and you can move it around.

These pre-fab buildings, Kowalik says, add extra pres-sure for manufacturers to shrink the size of their standard switchgear, but also have side benefits. The predesigned buildings can include sheltered aisles for improved

safety for workers and equipment. Theyre also modular, allowing customers to tailor their design to their individual needs.

While they can be mobile, e-houses can also be simply conve-nient. When Skyonic Corporation took on the task of retrofi tting a cement facility with carbon dioxide (CO2) capturing equipment, they hired Eaton to fi ll their switchgear needs. Eaton delivered Skyonics switchgear in a pre-assembled and pre-tested E-house that was imme-diately ready for installation out-side the cement plant.

ESL Power Systems focuses on a different angle of mobilitythe A manual transfer switch

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connection between mobile generators and the facilities they power. The company works with banks, hospitals, cell phone tower sites, shipyards, and other businesses where its impor-tant to give workers quick, easy, and safe power connection equipment. In place of using lug nuts to pinch raw wire endings, ESL provides cam-style connectors that resemble microphone cords. This lets workers pop connections in and out without cranking lug nuts or fraying wire ends.

ESL brings these same technologies to businesses that sometimes need temporary generators to perform load-bank testing, or to keep the shop running in the event of a power outage. Businesses have the option of installing just the manual transfer switch and get[ting] a portable generator for emergencies, which is considerably more affordable than purchasing and installing an automatic transfer switch and a permanent generator, says Lesleyanne Daniels, marketing manager for ESL.

Daniels notes that this isnt an option for critical facili-ties like hospitals, but it can save money for less-critical installations like retail stores or wastewater treatment plants. This approach can be particularly worthwhile, she says, for businesses in places that sometimes suffer power outages from predictable, seasonal weather events.

The southeast has hurricanes and heavy storms, she says. The northeast has heavy snow, and the Midwest has tornadoes. Those areas are constantly preparing for power outages due to weather.

Non-critical businesses could secure emergency genera-tors even without cam-style connectors, she explains, but they would expose themselves to certain hassles. When a crisis occurs, it may be diffi cult to fi nd a qualifi ed electrician because everyone else is doing the same thing.

US newcomer Anord Critical Power Inc. uses its outsider status an advantage. The Ireland-based company has been in business for 45 years, but has only recently crossed the Atlan-tic Ocean. At the time of this writing, the company had just moved into a new, 50,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Sandston, VA, on the outskirts of Richmond.

Because the company focuses on work with data centers, their clients often have similar installations all over the world. By ensuring that its equipment has earned UL certifi cation in addition to IEC standards, Anord can install the same gear for the same company at all of their siteswhether thats an US company expanding overseas or a foreign company ven-turing into the US.

They can take basically one setup and put it anywhere they want to in the world because we have the accreditation, says Sweaney.

The data center may have to make a few minor changes based on the local power grid, Sweaney says, but those are peripheral and have no impact on the heart of the switchroom. Such consistency appeals to data center companies because it allows them to install nearly identical, standardized facilities everywhere that they need them.

Maintenance . . . Or Lack ThereofWhen switchgear fails, so does the business or utility it servesmaking proper maintenance not just important,

but critical. Fortunately, switchgear providers continue to improve the maintenance environment.

ESLs transfer switches, for example, streamline the process of connecting electrical gear during the load-bank testing. According to marketing material from ESL, one of the companys end-users needed up to 20 man-hours to per-form a load-bank test with its existing equipment. With ESLs TripleSwitch, a single employee could complete the same task in as little as four hoursthough Daniels cautioned that not all businesses would see that drastic of a time reduction.

Each business is different, but the time saved in making the connections can be quite signifi cant, says Daniels.

According to one businesses case evaluation summary, she adds, the labor savings from ESLs TripleSwitch would help the equipment pay for its own installation in just two to fi ve years.

ABB has also deployed its engineers to simplify the pro-cess of maintaining switchgear itself. A traditional breaker, says Kowalik, contains between 200 and 400 moving parts. With such complex innards, these traditional breakers need to be inspected and serviced at least once per year. Hinges need to be lubricated. Springs need to be checked for tension.

But ABB now offers magnetic actuators with just one moving part.

We call it the iPhone of the breaker, he says.With starkly fewer parts and less friction, these magnetic

breakers only need to be inspected once every fi ve years. That


can save utilities a lot of man-hours and payroll. In addition, Kowalik says, the fi eld failure rate for the magnetic switchgear is just 0.08% versus a 0.4% failure rate for traditional spring charged breakers.

If you switch the breakers, you can save $3 to 4 million over 40 years, he explains. Those are big numbers. It gets a lot of attention from the senior executives.

In addition to its low-maintenance breakers, ABB also sells a variety of gas-insulated switchgear. This gear allows businesses or utilities install gear with higher voltage ratings on a smaller footprint and improved reliability.

Gas-insulated switchgear, Kowalik says, also saves time and money on maintenance costs. It only needs to be serviced to as often as air-insu-lated switchgearthough it does come with a bit of a catch.

I would say it is maybe more complex than air insulated switchgear, says Kowalik. You would normally like to use ABB for any maintenance on the gas insulated switchgear.

That has served to be only a minor barrier, though. The company intro-duced outdoor gas-insulated switch-gear about 10 years ago, and it has been growing in popularity ever since.

Regulatory EnvironmentWhile meeting utilities and businesses needs shape how providers design their switchgear, the regulatory environ-ment nudges what businesses demand. In recent years, regulatory groups have issued several rulings that impact switchgearif only tangentially.

In 2008, UL introduced new stan-dards for wireways, auxiliary gutters, and associated fi ttings that demanded more space for wire-bending. This put pressure on switchgear providers to make their gear smallerespecially when the American National Standards Institute adopted the same standards in 2013. UL has also published new requirements for remote racking devices for switchgear and controlgear (2014), and switchboards (UL 205, ANSI 2012).

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) also instituted new switchgear-related rules in July 2014 that became fully effective in Feb-ruary 2015. The new rules cover a wide variety of situations common to utility workers, including potential exposure to arc-fl ashes. The rules, which hadnt been updated in four decades, bring OHSAs guidelines in line with indus-try standards. Among other prescrip-tions, the new rules broadly require employers to accurately estimate the intensity of arc-fl ashes employees may be exposed to. Then, they must equip their workers with adequate protections from those arc fl ashes.

While this doesnt directly impact the manufacture of switchgear, OSHA suggests that choosing more modern switchgear could minimize danger.

Employers may institute mea-sures (such as selecting circuit break-ers designed to keep the probability of restrikes extremely low...) to reduce the probability of restrike to a negligible level. Employers may then ignore the potential for restrike in calculating maximum transient overvoltages as long as those measures are in place.

This also means that employers who institute safety measures directly on their switchgearsuch as using arc-resistant switchgear or earthing switchescan relax the intensity of their employees safety equipment.

Altogether, OSHA projected that the new ruleswhich also include guidelines for fall-protection equip-ment and safety distances from exposed energized partswould pre-vent approximately 118 serious injuries and 20 fatalities each year.

And its likely that the existing installations of the kind of gear the new regulations encourage has already saved dozensif not hundredsof lives. As the anecdote at the begin-ning of this article shows, a North American utility could have added 14 casualties to 2014s injury statis-tics when they energized their power distribution center in November. Instead, the utility chose to disaster-proof its switchgear. Ultimately, that choice saved both money and human well-being.

But modern switchgear improves on traditional equipment in many ways. As existing gear reaches the end of its useful life, utilities and facilities manag-ers have plenty of reason to upgrade. New gear saves time and money on maintenance. It fi ts into increasingly tight spaces. And it improves uptime and reliabilityall of which are tre-mendous bonuses on top of new gears potential to save lives. BE

Journalist Matt M. Casey writes about science and technology.

BEFor related articles:www.businessenergy.net/reliability

ABB IS-Limiter

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ABBs AMVAC magnetically actuated breaker

AMVAC

SWITCHGEAR


Given that a signifi cant portion of energy consumption is in lighting, replacing ineffi cient lighting offers a good oppor-tunity to save on energy and maintenance, points out Jeff Spencer, director of product management and market development for Juno Lighting.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, in 2012, the commercial sectorcommercial and institutional buildings and public streets and highwaysconsumed about 274 billion kWh for lighting. This was about 21% of commercial sector electricity used.

Facility managers and owner/operators should consider retrofi tting when a sound economic case can be made, notes Chris Bailey LC, LEED AP BD+C, DDI, MIES, director of the Lighting Solutions Center for Hubbell Lighting.

Typical payback scenarios include the basic operating costs associated with lighting, such as energy and mainte-nance, says Bailey, but he suggests that there is more to con-sider. For some, this may be a bit shortsighted. Industrial facilities may experience disruptions in productivity and place maintenance staff at some level of assumed risk when main-taining and servicing lighting equipment.

He continues, Due to limited accessibility, some facili-ties knowingly or unknowingly operate lighting systems well

below recommended illuminance levels on account of lamp burnout, lumen depreciation, and dirt depreciation factors. Unfortunately, as in many applications, poor maintenance of industrial lighting systems can result in unintended conse-quences to worker productivity and health.

Additionally, serious consideration should be given to the environment where the lighting system will operate, Bailey says. One size does not fi t all. Candidate products should be commiserate with the operating ambient temperature and general conditions of the space, which may range from basic to very complex, he adds.

Light quality is extremely important to retailers, notes Bailey. The latest generation of LED lighting technology offers a much broader and more balanced spectral distribu-tion than conventional fl uorescent technology, he says. If applied correctly, LED luminaries may result in a greater level of lighting quality, and potentially positively infl uence

IMPROVED EFFICIENCY AND SAFETY, LOWERED COSTS AND MAINTENANCE

BY CAROL BRZOZOWSKI

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LIGHTING

Perspectives on

Lighting Retrofits

Georgia Pacific Building, in Atlanta

LIGHTING

the customer experience and store sales.Still, the benefi ts may be diffi cult to quantity, Bailey says.

As a result, many facility owners and operators will overlook such factors, looking exclusively at energy and maintenance. They should seriously consider the full impact of upgrading or retrofi tting lighting systems, says Bailey. There are several total costs of ownership analysis tools available from Hubbell Lighting and others.

Often overlooked in prospective lighting projects is the fact that the lighting system, for a majority of facilities, is being depreciated along with the building over several years, he says. Because commercial real estate is considered an asset rather than an expense, the IRS requires owners to decrease its value every year by a small amount to simulate its gradual loss of value as it deteriorates. This process is called depreciation. While most commercial buildings have a 39-year life, some speed up the process and claim the depre-ciation in less time.

In a retrofi t where the majority of the original luminaires are maintained and electrical components are upgraded, the depreciated value of the discarded components will need to be accounted for at the time of replacement, Bailey points out. If the lighting system will be changed out completely, then the entire depreciated value of the original lighting system will need to be accounted for, he adds.

Lighting companies such as Hubbell Lighting offer a vast range of lighting and lighting control solutions for commer-cial, industrial and residential applications, as well as competi-tive fi nancing, which in many cases can provide immediate positive cash fl ow, says Bailey.

One program of note is our createchange platform, he adds. Coupled with our fl exible funding program called Cash Flow Positive, the programs give customers the resources they need to maximize energy savings and ensure project success.

For seven years, the iconic Georgia-Pacifi c building thats seen in Atlantas skyline had gone dark due to a lighting system that was energy-ineffi cient. Hubbell Lighting Solu-tions Beacon products were chosen to replace the buildings wasteful 1,000- and 400-W metal halide bulbs. The retrofi t incorporated 60 Alpha LED fl oodlights, including 8 ALU-36NB-90W-6x6, 22 ALU-60NB-136W-6x6, 27 ALU-72NB-220W-2x2, and 3 ALU-72NB-170W-5x5.

As a result of the retrofi t, Beacon Products was able to reduce the installed wattage from 64,800 to 10,162, offering a 75% energy consumption reduction. The retrofi t has helped move the Georgia-Pacifi c building closer to its goal of reduc-

ing energy consumption 20% by 2020. Beacon Products Alpha LED Floods can be pole-

mounted, wall-mounted, or base-plate mounted, and are designed to eliminate light spill and light trespass for lighting commercial facilities in residential and urban settings. The Alpha product can be specifi ed for aiming either below hori-zontal or above horizontal. The six standard NEMA beam spread options allow the light to be placed where desired.

When it comes to doing retrofi ts, the no-brainers are anything with a high ceiling, cumbersome to get to in order to replace the lamp, says Spencer. Its an easy decision just to retrofi t with an LED, and then its going to be years before you have to worry about it.

University RenovationsEnergy efficiency was a primary goal in a 2008 retrofit proj-ect at Concordia University Texas. The liberal arts college with an enrollment of more than 2,600 relocated its campus from its 23-acre downtown Austin home to 385 aces on Aus-tins West side, creating a new campus with both renovated buildings and new construction. University officials pursued energy-efficient measures for all of the buildings.

Building A was constructed in the mid-1980s as a research and development facility for a major oil services company and was one of six buildings remaining on the new campus. It was renovated before the university moved in and had been outfi tted with 200-W square downlights. The building houses the universitys largest auditorium, which hosts guest lectures, musical performances, and worship services. But the existing fi xtures produced uneven illumination and emitted high levels of heat that required extra cooling from the universitys HVAC systems during the hot Texas summers.

The fi xtures remained in use for more than 60 hours each week, and that necessitated frequent replacement, which required the maintenance staff to access them by high-rise catwalks.

University facilities management staff focused on the environment, maintenance requirements and lighting qual-ity, and determined LED lighting would signifi cantly increase operational life, reduce power consumption, offer cooler operation, and allow for higher-quality light.

With help from Juno Lighting Groups business partner FSG Lighting, Concordia University Texas offi cials selected the Indy Designer Series Architectural LED 6-inch Square Downlights from Juno Lighting Group by Schneider Electric to be installed in the auditorium of Building A. The Energy Star-certifi ed Indy Designer Series Architectural LED Square Downlights consume 34-W input and provide a luminaire effi cacy of 50 lumens per watt, in contrast to the old lumi-naires, which consumed approximately 200 W per fi xture.

The lights are designed to cut power consumption by up to one-third and provide optimal brightness control, allowing for smooth, even light distribution on the auditoriums fl oors and walls. The lights also are designed with optimal light source concealment for an aesthetically pleasing quiet ceiling look. Additionally, the fi xture-to-fi xture color consistency and reduced glare of the Indy Designer Series Architectural LED Square Downlights enable hearing-impaired students to be

The lights are designed with optimal light source concealment for an aesthetically pleasing quiet ceiling look. 26 www.BusinessEnergy.net


able to better read presenters lips in the building.Pre-programmed lighting layouts allow the space to be

adjusted to the specifi c need of the event being held. The fi x-tures are equipped with a dimmable LED driver to allow facili-ties staff to adjust brightness, too.

The lights are equipped with a cast-aluminum heat sink to maintain the LED junction temperature and signifi -cantly reduce the amount of heat in the building. The lights cool operation allows for air conditioning to be scaled back, enabling cost and energy savings. Additionally, maintenance costs have been reduced as the LED lamps provide 50,000 hours of service at 70% lumen maintenance.

Juno Lighting has several lines of recessed downlights for retrofi ts to replace fl uorescent fi xtures, notes Spencer. They include Basics retrofi t LED downlights in 4-, 5-, and 6-inch models and the Indy Low Profi le 2x2, 2x4, and 1x4 LED basket-style fi xtures.

The Indy retrofi t is one that will convert pretty much any six-inch, eight-inch, or larger recessed fi xturewhether its an incandescent, HID, or compact fl uorescentinto a UL-listed LED fi xture.

Juno offers downlights that replace a 42-W compact fl uorescent (which actually draws 46 W, Spencer says) with a 15-W fi xture. Retrofi t products have to be versatile, Spencer points out.

All manufacturers change their products over time, he adds. Every manufacturer uses different junction box sizes

and covers. Whatever is up there, this will work with it, and we have a retention system that allows it to fi t. It could be as small as fi ve-and-one-fourth, and as large as six-and-a-halfwe wanted one fi xture that could fi t that whole range.

Spencer points out a feature offered by Juno Lighting that is favored by users: If you have a compact fl uorescent bulb, you would have a certain amount of foot-candles and when the compact fl uorescent was no good, it would burn out. You would replace it with a new lamp, and when you do, it re-establishes the light levels in that space. With LED, it doesnt burn outit just keeps getting dimmer and dimmer. Looking at an offi ce space, classroom, or stairwell, somebody with a trained eye would notice it has half the light or less than its supposed to have.

To mitigate that, Juno Lighting designed a lumen depre-ciation indicator. We made it really easy to replace the light engine and the driver from below, but somehow we needed to tell them that its time to replace the light, because its not like a compact fl uorescent when it burns out, says Spencer.

Juno Lighting designed the indicator to turn off the LED once it reaches 70% of its initial output. The most intuitive thing for a maintenance worker to do is to pull the trim down and take a look inside to fi nd out why this is off, says Spen-cer. When he does, we have a small indicator light that turns orange, and the label next to it says if this is orange, its time to replace the LED to re-establish light levels.

The indicator enables the maintenance worker to turn the

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LIGHTING

light back on until replacement parts are obtained. Pressing the button once provides an extra 1,000 hours of light, or about 1.5 more months, Spencer says. That button is called the snooze button and is designed to reset the light up to fi ve times, offer-ing another 1.5 months each time toward the eventual end of the lights life cycle. A label offers information on the replace-ment part number, which provides information on the genera-tion of the light, its color temperature and lumen package.

Because replacement parts are becoming less expensive, its better to order them when needed rather than to stockpile them, Spencer says. When the maintenance worker gets the replacement part kit, he replaces the LED and the driver, and its good to go, he adds.

When LED lights are used to replace metal halide lights, there is a noticeable difference, Spencer says. Metal halide has a greenish tint to it. You dont notice it as much until you see it side-by-side to an LED, and all of a sudden the space that went from a 100-watt metal halide to a 40-watt LED looks so much brighter, so much cleaner, and the light is a cooler color. A couple of hours of retrofi tting can really change the way a place looks, and theyll never have to replace the lamps for fi ve to 10 years depending on how long theyre on.

Airport ParkingIn the world we live in today, poor lighting is something we adjust to, says Shawn Campbell, national accounts manager for the Southeast for CED Atlanta, an electrical parts dis-tributor that primarily services commercial, industrial, and electrical contractors. In an outdoor lighting application, poor or no lighting is often forgotten, he adds. Lights may burn out, and people wont park under those poles. After an outdoor retrofit, a space can light up like a Christmas tree, illustrating the important factors of safety and security.

Payback is important to the extent that a parking lots electric bill is purely overhead, says Campbell. You have to operate these lights; theres no way around that. You cant just go dark to save money.

A retrofi t not only shaves thousands of dollars from the electric bills, but maintenance costs, too, Campbell adds. With the old-fashioned lights, the HID, you have moving parts in that fi xture. You have a lamp that goes bad on average once every two years. You have a ballast that goes bad and costs three times as much as the lamp. These are on fi xtures that are 30 feet up in the air. Changing a light requires a licensed elec-trician with a boom lift, he explains.

Energy and cost effi ciencies, as well as safety issues, were the driving factors in an outdoor lighting retrofi t project at the Park N Fly at the Atlanta Airport, where two years ago, CED Atlanta partnered with Eaton Cooper Lighting in using its Galleon LED luminaires in a lighting retrofi t. Also part of the team was Balboa Capital to provide the fi nancing and Light Source Unlimited for the installation.

The AccuLED Optics system is designed to provide uni-form and energy-effi cient illumination to walkways, parking lots, roadways, building areas, and security lighting applica-tions. The luminaires are IP66 rated and UL/cUL listed for wet locations.

The retrofi t entailed 80 outdoor fi xtures on 40 poles, with

two light fi xtures on mast arms on each pole. It was executed in less than fi ve weeks.

The Galleon LED luminaires are a true workhorse, notes Campbell. With the luminaires, one gets to the naked eye what would appear to be twice the lighting as you do for a standard HID fi xture.

Outdoor parking areas often have lighting requirements 12 hours a day, every day, thus retrofi tting outdoor spaces usu-ally gives the best bang for your buck, notes Campbell. In doing retrofi ts, CED makes the case for switching to LED from fl uorescent or HID using simple payback calculations.

The Atlanta Park N Fly location can save an average of $30,000 on its electric bill, says Campbell, adding thats a frac-tion of the number that were typically seeing.

Campbell acknowledges that there are many upfront costs associated with outdoor lighting retrofi ts that should be considered, including installation and other work, such as painting. Especially with outdoor lighting, a lot of other fac-tors come into play, says Campbell. Sometimes you add some bells and whistles, or you have to tweak your design and you fi nd light poles that are out there on the site that dont work, the electrical wire has been stripped, or any number of other issues that add to the timetable.

While the Park N Fly project costs $100,000, rebates and associated incentives brought that down to $80,000 with a cal-culated two-year return on investment, says Campbell.

Controllable LightingThere are several simple conditions under which a facility operator should consider doing a lighting retrofit, notes Bob Smith, P.E., Director, Energy Marketing Solutions, Eatons Cooper Lighting business. Simple ones to consider include high energy rates for which a retrofit can help reach a faster payback with incentives offered by the utility to buy-down the cost of the installation, which helps reduce the initial investment, he adds.

Timing of group re-lamping helps justify the rebate, says Smith. When a facility or a space is up for a group re-lamping, the funds planned for the re-lamping can be used to help justify the retrofi t. As the time of use increases, the kilo-watt-hour savings expand. For example, a system that operates at 24/7 has a faster payback than one that only operates three hours per day.

Additionally, there are more complex elements to con-sider, he adds. The scope of the technologies that can be replaced with LED luminaires affordably covers not only incandescent/halogen systems but also HID, compact fl uores-cent, linear fl uorescent, and induction.

Spaces that have lighting operating for long periods to allow for safe conditions when occupied can achieve higher savings with controlled LED luminaires, notes Smith. The required time of use can be dramatically reduced resulting in higher kilowatt-hour savings. There are various means of con-trolling the LEDs.

One is occupancy control for vacancy and motion sens-ing. This reduces kilowatt-hours based upon the activity in the space. The system can be commissioned to turn off or reduce light levels, he says.


Another means: daylighting control to sense for reduction in power where sunlight is present. This reduces kilowatt-hours based upon the amount of sunlight in a space, he says. Additionally, controls integrated within the overall building energy management system can be implemented in retrofi ts.

It is most cost effective when the system is already in place such as zero to ten Vdc low-voltage control, says Smith. LEDs commonly offer continuous dimming with deeper energy savings than traditional sources like linear fl uorescents that include ballasts with the same zero to ten Vdc control. As network security of wireless controls within a building are addressed, these will eventually facilitate simpler commission-ing with the opportunity for deeper energy savings.

To reduce commissioning expenses, integrated sensors within luminaires are effective in many applications such as small spaces and where granular control is desired without additional wiring, he notes.

Areas that are very difficult to reach can be replaced with properly-designed luminaires that last, not only reducing energy costs, but [also] maintenance savings with higher reliability.

When undertaking a retrofi t, safety is the paramount factor to consider. Equipment available on the market may save energy and the initial cost may be low, but the safety of the installation is critical, says Smith. Be sure to know the real cost of the lighting equipment proposed and the amount of time it really takes to install in accordance with the safety requirements.

Smith advises facility owners and operators to avoid technologies that require luminaire rewiring, and to be care-ful of not fully understanding what ballast each luminaire has installed. This is a signal of retrofi ts that can result in altera-tions that render the luminaire unsafe and remove the original equipment manufacturer from their responsibilities, he says. Be aware that UL-recognized [Underwriters Laboratories, which refers to product safety testing] components do not mean the retrofi t will be installed safety.

Smith also advises facility operators to have an audit con-ducted by someone who understands luminaire construction.

The occupancy of the space is another factor to consider when doing a lighting retrofi tting. If the space stays occu-pied 24/7, scheduling the retrofi t can be diffi cult and can also be costly, says Smith.

Consider tall mounting heights with many obstructions. If luminaires are installed at tall heights that require equip-ment to perform the retrofi t, survey the space for obstruc-tions that will make it diffi cult for the equipment to maneu-ver around to allow the contractor to perform the retrofi t, he points out.

Another factor is that mounting and wire connections vary by luminaire type. Be sure to understand how a lumi-naire is mounted and supply wiring is connected, says Smith. The luminaire may require special hangers and special plugs to be an easy retrofi t.

Smith says building owners and operators can start with DesignLights Consortium-qualifi ed and Energy Star-certifi ed luminaires. This makes sure that one is comparing manufac-turers by having a third-party validate the basic performance

levels, he says. Once that is done, be sure to have a lighting design done because not all luminaries perform the same way in every space. This will assure the light levels are adequate and the energy minimized optimized.

Eaton offers a broad range of controllable energy-effi cient luminaires that are designed to last, audit support, lighting layouts support, fi nancing support when funds are not avail-able and the energy savings can fund the monthly expense, and DesignLights Consortium-qualifi ed and Energy Star-certifi ed recessed luminaires.

Turnkey Solutions, Important ConsiderationsJosh Kurtz, senior vice president of sales for Orion Energy Systems, agrees that energy savings and maintenance reduc-tion are important factors in considering lighting retrofits.

Orion focuses almost exclusively on lighting retrofi tting and offers lighting solutions for commercial, exterior, and industrial applications. Orion manufacturers a broad range of lighting systems, including LED and fl uorescent high-bay fi xtures, wet-rated LED fi xtures for dairy farms, the ISON class exterior line with hundreds of confi gurations, and its LDRLED Door Retrofi t that ships fully assembled and installs in one minute to replace traditional fl uorescent troffers. Its fi x-tures are designed to deliver the most amount of light output for the least amount of energy, says Kurtz.

Orion works with clients to determine their needs are a per-facility basis, providing lighting project engineering and turnkey solutions for cradle to grave coverage of energy-effi -cient lighting projects, says Kurtz. The company is technology agnostic in providing lighting technology to meet needs in LED, T8, T5, induction, and solar lighting, he adds.

Today, many facility managers and facility executives are tasked with reducing both energy and maintenance costs. Retrofi tting their facilities lighting systems with todays light-ing technology is often the lowest hanging fruit, says Kurtz. When engineered the right way, lighting retrofi ts increase light levels while reducing both energy consumption and ongoing lighting system maintenance.

Many areas of the United States have rebates available from utility companies or other state agencies that help reduce the facilitys out-of-pocket costs for lighting upgrades and dra-matically increase the lighting projects return on investment, says Kurtz. After reducing energy and maintenance costs, some other reasons to retrofi t lighting are increased light levels and improving the quality of the lighting. Increased light lev-els are needed in some facilities for both safety and employee performance, he says. Todays lighting technologies provide a much better quality of light. Many studies show that employee productivity improves after a well-designed and engineered lighting retrofi t.

Since fluorescent hit the market in the 1930s, there has been little radical change, Kurtz points out. With the increased efficiencies and reduced maintenance costs of LED lighting, adoption of LED lighting is growing across the board.

In considering a retrofi t, facility owners and operators also need to consider the age of the current lighting system. Was it fi ve years ago, and do you have fi xtures that are not yet


LIGHTING

fully depreciated? says Kurtz.Determining what technology is

best suited for a facility is important. In some applications such as freez-ers or cold storage, LED is easily the technology of choice, he says. In other applications, fl uorescent may still be the best technology.

Other factors to consider: What is the corporate light level

standard for both quality and quan-tity of light?

Can the facility complete the instal-lation work in-h

Documents

Business Energy June 2015