Conventional wisdom would have you concentrate thermal imaging on windows and doors. However, windows and doors contribute very little to total air leakage in most dwellings. In fact, the most serious leaks occur at the top and bottom of the conditioned building envelope - in attics and basements.

Advanced packaged rooftop units (RTUs) are emerging with higher efficiencies and additional features designed to save energy off-peak and improve reliability. Features include improved fans and economizers; better controls for the fan, refrigerant cycle, and economizer; and advanced monitoring and diagnostics.

V-belt drive misalignment exists when the driver and driven sheaves are not properly aligned. Misalignment can take either the form of angular or parallel (offset) misalignment, or a combination of both. Ideally, you want to have both parallel and angular harmony.

Chilled beam systems provide savings by replacing fan energy with pump energy. They use pumped chilled water instead of blowing cold air. Water has much higher heat capacity, both by mass and volume. In typical pump and fan arrangements, this has been shown to translate into a reduction in fan energy by a factor of seven.

This article, reprinted from an EXHAUSTO white paper, discusses the benefits of demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) systems in multi-story, multi-residential buildings, which include improving building energy efficiency, enhancing comfort and other key performance factors. It reviews the application of DCV in new, retrofit and renovated building projects.

If a sheave is not balanced, it will have an inherent uneven distribution of weight. This uneven weight distribution magnifies vibration and noise when rotated and as speed of rotation increases. Unbalanced sheaves can also lead to premature life of other drive components due to the vibration and stresses placed on the components.

Facility managers are hunting for ways to operate more efficiently and conserve energy. We know more now than we did even a few years ago about where to look for unnecessary waste. We also know how to quantify the dollar value of that opportunity. That allows you to create a more accurate proposal that’s more likely to be approved and achieved.

John Guardiola, vice president of engineering at Portfolio Property Management Global (PPMG), knew exactly who to call to help him update the building systems at the downtown Detroit landmark, One Detroit Center: Joe Colleran and his team at mechanical service contractor W.J. O’Neil Company.

If capital expenditures at your customers’ facilities for new equipment have been frozen or eliminated, one way to save money and free up financial resources is to tune up existing HVAC equipment. The checklist provided here should generally apply to most main equipment types and energy waste areas.

Last April, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a substantial investment of $114.3 million in funding for the rapid deployment of approximately 1,000 fuel cell systems in key early markets including combined heat and power (CHP). A team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is now assessing these systems.