High-Performance Buildings & Automation

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With a little guidance on ground-source heat pump design temperatures and a few rules of thumb for ground loop flow rates, most engineers are pretty comfortable designing the building side of a ground-source heat pump (GSHP) system.

As I complete my transition from leading a practice focused on the design of integrated control systems to focusing on research efforts, it is time to bid farewell to writing this monthly column.

For the last decade, I have had the privilege of being an Engineered Systems columnist.

During the past 12 years, I have had the opportunity to work on many controls projects.

Properly selected automated controls to minimize chiller plant energy, power consumption, and the cost of operations are essential for overarching chiller plant performance. 

While it seems like just yesterday, it is now 21 years since the BACnet standard, ASHRAE 135, was approved and published.

Today, in 2016, we often see BAS installed in new commercial buildings with microcontroller hardware that was designed up to 10 years ago. 

There is a great line in the classic 1980’s movie Top Gun, where Maverick says to his co-pilot, Goose, “I feel the need,” and they then say in unison “the need for speed.”