April 2009

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Sustainability ProactiveAKF Group LLC,

New York

Dave Moreno (l) & Jake Lawrencestand tall amid the backdrop ofsteel framing for a replacementhospital in New Jersey.

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Sustainable design, load matching and service integrationare just some of the topics covered in PlumbingEngineer’s new feature segment called “Engineering

Spotlight,” in which PE spotlights an engineering firm thatexhibits professionalism and innovative design procedures.To kick off its first Spotlight, Plumbing Engineer proudly fea-tures New York-based AKF Group LLC, which specializes inHVAC, electrical, plumbing, fire/life safety, controls, centralutilities and energy management. The firm has continued toevolve and expand its services and reach throughout theUnited States and abroad. The staff has continued to grow at a rate of over 15% a year, and AKF Group has been blazing the trail as a LEED™(Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design) leading engineering firm.

AKF was founded in New York in 1989 by three found-ing partners and offers a full scope of traditional engi-neering services. Today, the firm — comprised of 25 part-ners and 435 staff members — offers a broad range ofengineering services with offices in New York, Princeton,N.J.; Arlington, Va.; Boston; Philadelphia; Stamford,Conn.; and Mexico City. With a majority of engineerslicensed professionals, AKF has continued to grow anddiversify its practice to serve the continually changingneeds of its clients. Its services have expanded to embraceAKF Technologies and AKF Analysis & Testing to sup-plement the broad range of professional engineering ser-vices. AKF is organized to allow for continual successionand opportunities for all members of the firm.

As AKF celebrates its 20th anniversary, the partners arevery proud of the many accomplishments that brought themto their current position as a leading full-service engineer-ing firm with clients in both the private and public sectorsthroughout the United States, and the world.

Inside the firm

AKF provides detailed testing and retro-commissioningservices. Over the past three years, it has expanded its in-house commissioning group and services to become theonly New York City firm to provide complete in-houseCritical SystemsSM design and true hands-on commission-ing services and preventive maintenance without the needto outsource the services. AKF maintains an inventory ofsophisticated testing and monitoring equipment to supportits field technicians. Many of its commissioning techni-cians have come out of the major UPS corporations andprovide a greater level of hands-on support.

The commissioning services, vibration analysis, predic-tive maintenance and start-up testing services are con-ducted by dedicated specialists within the AKF Group andAKF Analysis & Testing companies. The AKF Group hasover 70 dedicated Commissioning and Analysis & Testing

Continued on page 52

Sustainability ProactiveBy John Mesenbrink

Engineering SpotlightAKF Group LLC, New York

Page 52/Plumbing Engineer April 2009

professionals in NYC actively participating within theAssociation of Energy Engineers (AEE), the AmericanSociety of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-ConditioningEngineers (ASHRAE), Building CommissioningAssociation (BCA) and the American Society forHealthcare Engineers (ASHE) organizations.

AKF also performs all electrical distribution testing andemergency generator testing services and short circuit,coordination and arc flash studies. The Analysis andTesting team provides in-depth vibration monitoring,vibration analysis, acceptance testing, critical speed test-ing, and motor current waveform analysis.

AKF has highly experienced commissioning engineers,technicians and analysts who have focused their expertiseon building operations, chiller plants, and automation sys-tems, serving facility and plant operations directly or incombination with the Owner’s A/E project specific designteam to provide a fully integrated solution.

The firm has a dedicated Critical Systems design team,which has extensive experience with the design of datacenters and other critical facilities. The in-house support

available to the commissioning team provides them withinsight and assistance into providing a comprehensive andcoordinated commissioning plan.

The following is an exclusive Q&A with AKF GroupLLC partners Jake Lawrence, PE, Dave Moreno, PE, RobDiemer, PE, LEED AP, Asif Syed, PE, LEED AP and JoeIanni, project manager.

PE: What are your initiatives for AKF?AKF: Our initiatives involve green technology, sus-

tainability, integration of services with our information

technology, analysis & testing, commissioning, controls,lighting, etc. —providing our clients the ability to addresstomorrow’s issues today.

Specific Project Example

AKF provided sustainability engineering services to St.John’s University to comply with their “3010 challenge” aspart of the U.S. Mayors’ climate protection agreement. NewYork City requested higher educational institutions to reducetheir carbon footprint by 30% over 10 years commonlyreferred to as the “3010 Program” or “3010 challenge.”

St. John’s has over 2.75 million sq. ft. of buildings at50,000 tons of carbon dioxide, and a target reduction of30%, or 15,000 tons. AKF established St. John’s footprintbaseline carbon for 2006 and St. John’s was recentlyawarded the Energy Gold Star by Mayor Bloomberg “foraccelerating its greenhouse gas reduction plan to reach its30% decrease target by the year 2013.”

AKF developed a strategy for 30% reduction achievedwith a five-year master plan including:

• Existing buildings on campus retrofitted with greentechnologies;

• Boiler plants and chiller plant technologies convertedto state-of-the-art;

• Building operations improved;• Campus-wide building management system to reduce

waste energy;• Building systems retro-commissioned; and• On site generation and cogeneration technologies with

existing campus low pressure steam distribution andimproved efficiency.

PE: Is your company involved with sustainable design?AKF: As a large design and full service engineering

firm we are involved in more than $3 billion in construc-tion. Our designs can significantly impact sustainability,energy efficiency and the carbon footprint. With this inmind, we have taken an integrated approach to sustain-ability, LEED Design and energy, along with our MEPdesigns. We do not consider sustainability to be anappendage to MEP design, but rather seamless and mosa-ic. We have introduced CFD Analysis and have trained alarge portion of our regular engineering design staff in allsoftware available for engineering analysis.

Increased awareness of the principles of sustainabledesign is changing the way buildings are developed. AKFis a leader in furthering sustainable design and environ-mental responsibility in our projects. We continue to payattention to the long-term environmental impact of thesystems we engineer, as well as the energy required tooperate them. We provide workshops and seminars on sus-tainable design and green building systems for our clientsand staff.

As a benchmarking tool, and to ensure advanced supportto our clients, we work closely with the LEED GreenBuilding Rating System, which was developed by the U.S.Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED supports sustain-able buildings and its effect on the environment by provid-ing a framework for more efficient, healthier structures thatare both good for the planet and the people who live on it,while providing a higher return on investment. AKF is proudto have been an active member in the USGBC since 2001.

AKF became the founding sponsor of the MexicoGreen Building Council in 2005 with the World GreenBuilding Council, as well as existing and emerging

Continued from page 50

Engineering Spotlight

Jake Lawrence (l), PE, and Dave Moreno, PE, partners atAKF, oversee construction of Capital Health System’s newreplacement hospital located in Hopewell Township, N.J. This1,000,000-sq.-ft. facility will provide the most comprehensiveand state-of-the-art, patient-focused care. AKF has providedcomplete MEP/FP engineering services at this facility.

Plumbing Engineer April 2009/Page 53

Green Building Councils from around the world. Thecombined councils work to advance the cause for sus-tainable buildings and building practices — necessary tothe welfare of our planet.

Sustainable design capabilities start with our experi-enced professional staff and collaborative approach toengineering. Our comprehensive in-house training pro-grams continue to yield an increasing number of LEED®Accredited Professionals. The firm goal is not only tomeet the current sustainability requirements of our clientsand a building’s occupants, but also to anticipate and pre-pare for future needs and developments.

Our sustainable design solutions have included geother-mal heat pump systems, photovoltaics, hybridnatural/mechanical ventilation, radiant heating and cooling,thermal storage, heat recovery, energy efficient lightingcontrol systems, graywater storage and treatment systems,cogeneration plants and alternate fuel chillers. AKF has fullbuilding energy modeling capabilities utilizing the DOE IIbased VisualDOE program, as well as the Trane Trace mod-eling software. AKF provides computation fluid dynamicsmodeling using Fluent software. We also have assisted ourclients in the process of procuring rebates and incentives for energy efficient equipment and systems. AKFCommissioning Group is available to provide basic andenhanced Commissioning Services for LEED projects.

Our services and capabilities including the following: • Sustainable MEP Design Services • Building Energy Modeling • Daylighting Studies • Renewable Energy Studies• Computational Fluid Dynamics • LEED Commissioning Services • LEED Consulting Services • Rebate/Incentive Consulting ServicesOur philosophy of sustainable design is founded upon

three basic principles:Harvest Free Energy — Maximize the harvesting of

available on-site renewable energy by advantageous build-ing orientation and massing, correct placement of fenestra-tion to maximize daylight potential and optimize solar gain,optimal placement of passive ventilation openings and dis-charge points and other passive strategies. The proper uti-lization of daylight has a profound impact on building ener-gy use, occupant comfort and health. We are proponents ofthe use of natural ventilation, passive heating and/or cool-ing and geothermal energy where appropriate.

Reduce Building Loads — Second, optimize remain-ing loads that affect building performance. The design ofefficient electric lighting systems, realistic plug loadallowances, optimized building envelopes and the educa-tion of the building owner to alternative indoor environ-mental control systems and strategies have a major impacton the affordability of sustainable strategies.

Employ Efficient Systems — Finally, once maximumbenefit is extracted from available site resources and build-ing imposed loads are reduced to the greatest extent possi-ble, we design efficient mechanical and electrical systems.These systems are “right sized” based on an optimizedbuilding, require less capacity and have a lower first costthan systems that are not designed in this manner. Theopportunities to apply high performance, low energy sys-tems and strategies are greater because the building systems

are asked to do less. We believe our approach results in therealization of the maximum sustainable potential for theproject at the lowest bottom line impact.

PE: Can you explain the significance of AKF beingcarbon neutral?

AKF: We are offsetting our environmental impact andeliminating our contribution to global warming. This isachieved by purchasing certified offsets for our electricityuse and carbon emissions associated with our corporatetravel and firm member commuting. AKF is committed tohelping reduce our dependency on fossil fuels, promotingcleaner air, and fighting global climate change. Our certi-fied annual commitment is similar to planting 32,330mature trees or not driving 8,016,216 miles each year.

PE: Is green building here to stay or is it just goodfodder for campaign speeches?

AKF: Green building has become standard operatingprocedure in today’s fast-paced world, although there arestill cost premiums involved for some systems. We believethat designing and building better, healthier, more efficient

buildings is the only solution to improving the quality ofour environment and, as more people understand anddemand these systems, we expect that costs will decline.

However, it is important to understand that where weare today is just a step in the evolution of where we needto go in the design of buildings. We need to design build-ings that are regenerative and restorative; that generatemore energy than they use; that export clean water insteadof waste; and that create rather than destroy habitats.

PE: How do you avoid “green” over-saturation? Howdo you spec products that are sustainable and true to theapplication?

AKF: There is a proliferation of claims made by manu-facturers about the green compliance of their products. It isincumbent on us as engineers to do the comparative due dili-gence and take the time to educate ourselves about the prod-ucts we specify. We do that in a number of ways at AKF:

• We have a sustainability group (AKF Green Team)who undertake research studies and share their informa-tion with the rest of the firm.

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Engineers at AKF Group LLC work diligently, addressingtomorrow’s issues today.

Page 54/Plumbing Engineer April 2009

• We have a program of “lunch and learns,” both in-house training and with manufacturers.

• We attend Greenbuild (November 11-13, Phoenix) wherewe can see the products side by side and can evaluate them.

PE: Anything in the stimulus package that will translateto green building practices and environmental stewardship?

AKF: There has been $151 billion earmarked in thestimulus package nationwide for green building practicesand environmental stewardship.

PE: Tackling solar/SDHW, how do you come up withsolar designs and software?

AKF: The most critical factor is understanding theowner’s goals and objectives. So often solar and SDHW arethought of because they are very visible symbols of anowner’s commitment to sustainability. Unfortunately, manyowner’s balk at the cost of installation once they fullyunderstand them. We try to educate owners on the costs andmerits of various systems. We also try to make sure we areapplying the systems correctly and in the right applications.It may not make much sense to put SDHW on an officebuilding where the domestic hot water load is such a smallfactor, but on a residential building it may be another story.Once we decide that a particular building is a good fit, weuse a number of generic software programs and refer tomanufacturers’ literature to determine basic sizing parame-ters for solar domestic hot water. Oventrop Corp.’s litera-ture, for example, is a great source for us.

PE: For what percentage of the building load wouldyou size a solar system?

AKF: If the space is available and it is economicallyfeasible, then we would size the solar system for 100% ofthe building’s domestic hot water load. We obviouslywould have other means of generating hot water as a sup-plement/backup. If the project has certain limiting para-meters, such as space, then the system would be maxi-mized up to the limiting parameters.

We are careful to consider solutions that create a bal-anced system that takes advantage of available solar energythroughout the year while optimizing the cost of the system.

PE: Flat panel vs. evacuated tubes?AKF: Based on independent studies, the evacuated

tubes are more efficient (produce more hot water per areaof equipment). Also, the evacuated tubes perform betterduring lower ambient temperatures. If neither space norambient temperature is an issue then we would select pan-els, since they are more cost effective.

PE: How can engineers/AKF better assist builders intoday’s economic climate?

AKF: We help our clients by providing them options onsolving problems and informing them about alternatecost-effective ways to assure that their facilities meet cur-rent regulatory compliance requirements and state-of-the-art operational efficiencies.

PE: Can you explain the delicate balance of engineer-ing in the short term while anticipating for the long term?

AKF: As engineers, we need to help our clients under-stand how things are changing in the world around us andhelp educate them about the value of thinking beyond onlythe expedient options and considering the long term implica-tions of energy usage, carbon footprint, etc, as well. We mustrecognize that some owners are beginning to value energyuse reductions with the resultant reduction in carbon footprintand have specific goals that go beyond the life cycle costs.The old way of looking at engineering options assumed thatthe main considerations were cost driven. We now have tomake sure we are finding the best life cycle cost options thatalso achieve these other objectives. We must also considerdesign flexibility in our design solutions that allow the build-ings and the systems we design to adapt over time.

PE: Celebrating its 20th year, what are some mile-stones or highlights of AKF?

AKF: Several major milestones/highlights have led tothe successful growth of the firm:

• The core values and culture established by the found-ing partners have survived and endured over the past 20years and have allowed us to differentiate our firm fromour competitors and maintain strong, long term relation-ships with our clients.

• We have successfully expanded into new geographicareas and new market sectors by empowering our peopleto pursue their goals and interests.

• We have accomplished the leadership transition pro-gram that will take the firm forward for the next 20 years.

AKF Group LLC’s goal is to continue to provide innov-ative design, quality service and technical leadership byoffering services that go beyond traditional engineering andrespond to the ever-changing dynamics of the marketplace.

Because AKF is an “open” firm — it purposely has nostratified structure, no titles, no private offices — eachengineer on a project has access to all of his or her staff,able to tap into the firm’s total pool of knowledge andskills. The spirit of collaboration also embraces its clients.Each client has unfettered access to its AKF team leaders,who in turn serve as their partners on a project, and whoare engaged on the front line to answer questions — andask them — and to solve problems. This atmosphere ofrespect and candor throughout a project helps to sharpenand speed successful outcomes.

And, as AKF looks forward, it recognizes the effects ofthe global economy, new technologies, the need for envi-ronmental efficiency and other major issues will present newchallenges for its clients across all market sectors. Its visionfor the future is to foster a firm that will continue to lead,diversify and evolve. �

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Engineering Spotlight

AKF Awards

• New York Constructions News — The Best of 2008 AwardsThe Best Green Project — Award of MeritNational Audubon Society Home Office, New York

• 2008 Green Building AwardThe City of New York and the United States Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) Region 2, Grand Prize WinnerBattery Park City Parks Conservancy, Maintenance Building New York

• 2008 Green Building AwardThe City of New York and the United States Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) Region 2, WinnerWest Harlem Environmental Action (WEACT), New York

• 2008 American Council of Engineering Companiesof New York (ACECNY) — The Gold Award Weill Cornell Medical CollegeThe Weill Cornell Ambulatory Care Building, New York

• 2008 American Council of Engineering Companiesof New York (ACECNY) — The Diamond Award The Rockefeller UniversityDr. Hudspeth, Ear Cell Laboratory, Bronk Building, New York