Ventilation Solution Slashes Development’s Energy Bill by 30 Percent
Cost to Ventilate the Property’s Garage Has Been Reduced by $59,400 a Year
|
| The ventilation system uses a smart-control logic that detects and measures vehicle fumes in the garage and then modulates fan speeds to prevent CO levels from exceeding 10 parts per million (ppm) for extended periods of time. |
Engineers for the regional utility verified the savings, noting the garage ventilation system installed by NES cuts the entire annual electric bill for Oceanview Village by 30 percent, all while maintaining a 24/7 runtime schedule for all of the property’s garage fan motors. As a result, the cost to ventilate the property’s garage has been reduced by $59,400 a year — from $5,200 per month to just $230 per month or roughly $7.70 a day.
“Nagle Energy Solutions’ detailed measurement and verification methodologies assured us that the retrofit of the Oceanview Village garage ventilation system would achieve substantial energy savings,” said Michael Gollnick, president of the board for the Oceanview Village Homeowners Association (HOA). “The garage project was a key component of the HOA’s sustainability efforts, and NES delivered better-than-promised results, so we’re quite pleased.”
A $62,000 investment by the HOA in the carbon monoxide (CO) sensor-based, demand-control ventilation (DCV) system installed by NES has a net present value (NPV) of $672,000 and provides a minimum cash inflow of $830,000 throughout the 15-year life of the system.
The system, developed by AirTest Technologies, utilizes a proprietary, smart-control logic that detects and measures vehicle fumes in the garage space and then modulates fan speeds to prevent CO levels from exceeding 10 parts per million (ppm) for extended periods of time. The result is to consistently achieve energy savings up to and beyond 95 percent, while ensuring the health and safety of building occupants and visitors by providing continuous ventilation.
Oceanview Village houses a two-level, 144,500-square-foot, enclosed parking garage for its residents and visitors, accommodating 450-plus automobiles. The garage ventilation system is comprised of four 10-horsepower (hp) exhaust fans, two 7.5-hp supply fans, and two 3-hp exhaust fans.
Prior to the retrofit, the garage fans ran continuously. Power (kW) measurements by NES revealed the garage fans’ combined energy consumption to be 399,620 kWh per year, with a correlating power demand of 46.76 kW. Based on a utility rate of $0.1556/kWh and taking into account additional charges incurred by running the garage fans during peak demand periods each day, the annual cost to ventilate Oceanview Village’s garage amounted to $62,200.
Post-installation measurements showed the NES/AirTest garage DCV system, which will continue to run on a 24/7 basis, reduced the garage fan motors’ combined kWh consumption by 381,000 kWh — a 95.4 percent savings. Peak kW demand was reduced by 44.65 kW, which equates to a 95.5 percent savings.
Looking for quick answers on air conditioning, heating and refrigeration topics? Try Ask ACHR NEWS, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ACHR NEWS
Not including a rebate of more than $30,000 from the regional utility, NES noted the retrofit pays for itself in 12 months.
Nagle Energy Solutions, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is a green technology consulting, distribution, and installation company that provides strategies and solutions to improve commercial property operating efficiencies. For more information, visit www.nagle-energy.com.
Publication date: 9/9/2013
Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
