Keeping Up With the Competition

By 1996 the building faced stiff competition for occupants. New and renovated buildings were taking business away and Five Points' inefficient lighting and high maintenance costs associated with the deteriorating radiant panel heating and cooling system mandated a complete upgrade of the mechanical and electrical systems.

Morris E. Harrison & Associates Inc., (MEH&A) consulting engineers, (Norcross, GA) were retained to determine how it could be done. The firm's president, Morris Harrison Sr., says the system was in dire need of replacement not just because of its age, but also because parts of the system had been bypassed over the years. "Since the ceiling cavity space was very limited in the building, there weren't a whole lot of options," he recalls.

MEH&A found that all of the central station equipment was still serviceable, but that the radiant ceiling panel system would have to be replaced. There could be enough static pressure in the last branch for a low-pressure vav terminal using the existing air ducts if the AHU and return air fans could be upgraded to provide an additional 15% capacity.

The trunk ducts on each floor passed through sleeved openings in structural concrete beams extending to within 6 in. of the ceiling and could not be enlarged. A duct analysis showed that by increasing the static pressure in the main supply air riser, providing a pressure-independence station (Acutherm static pressure controller and damper) at the duct take-off to each floor, and enlarging some of the diffuser branch ducts, the duct system would be able to provide design air in the last branch, but only at a low pressure.

At the same time, existing fan performance curves showed that fan capacities could be increased 15% by installing a larger, premium-efficiency motor. Fan static pressure control could be maintained by the addition of variable-frequency drives (vfd's).

Low-pressure Therma-Fuser(tm) thermally powered modular vav diffusers by Acutherm offered a workable solution. They also provided individual temperature control, adaptability for future tenant layouts, and low maintenance - all prime design objectives.

Existing radiant panels, valves, piping, and light troffers were all removed. Fan motors were replaced and variable-speed drives (vsd's) added. Therma-Fuser 320 Model TB-C (cooling only) modules were installed in interior spaces and 352 Model TF-HC (vav heating/vav cooling) Therma-Fuser modules with minimum flow stops were used in all perimeter spaces. Runouts to TF-HC units were provided with an electric duct heater controlled by a wall thermostat set approximately 4?F below the TF-HC cooling setpoint.

Results: Three Years Later

The system has been in operation for almost three years following a smooth installation (in the nearly empty building) by Richard Bowers and Co., an affiliate of the company that bought the building, RB Development and Property Services of Atlanta, GA. According to Daniel Brawley, vice president of operations for RB Management Services, Inc., the building's hvac performance before the retrofit and extensive renovations and after are incomparable.

The building's occupancy, which was at about 30% before, is now 100%, and so many other things changed in the building that a before-and-after comparison is truly an apples-to-oranges situation. However, Brawley does allow that "assuming the way things were previously, we have surely saved a lot of money." "Also," he adds, "the number of complaints in that building are well within the scope of what we expect in a Class 'A' office building."

The building, which was seemingly a short step from obsolescence, is now occupied by hundreds of government workers who don't lodge many "hot or cold calls." Sounds like a win-win situation.ES