Marcia Karr, P.E.

Marcia Karr, P.E., an energy engineer with the Washington State University Energy Program, has over 30 years of experience in commercial building design, construction, and maintenance. Her positions have included providing DOE hotline support, CHP assessments and peer review of assessments, building and energy code plan reviewer, union trades supervisor, design/build engineer, field construction engineer and project coordinator, and HVAC designer (commercial and institutional). Karr is a registered Professional Engineer in Washington and Oregon, has a B.S. in mechanical engineering, and is a licensed Commercial Buildings Energy Code (NREC) Plans Examiner.

Why Would A Hospital Consider Absorption Chillers?

While CHP is good, CCHP can be even better for your facility and its locale. The author surveys the potential benefits, building code input, and electrical considerations. After a couple of case studies, she then reviews considerable engineering re-sources the DOE provides for those contemplating a forward-looking but proven design.

Marcia Karr, P.E.

November 8, 2016

Atypical load profile for a hospital might show heat energy increases in the winter, with electric demand peaks in the summer as seen in Figures 1 and 2.

Emergency Generators In Health Care: Diesel Or Natural Gas?

More specifically, has natural gas been overlooked? Let’s take a look at some previous habits and code language, current needs, and the advantages that a CHP system can provide for those exceedingly regulated of all environments: hospitals.

Marcia Karr, P.E.

July 2, 2016

Emergency generators are required in many applications where facility operations are to continue to perform even upon a failure of the electric grid.

Data Centers & Ab/Adsorption Chillers

A few circumstances in a data center make it ripe for a CHP design to boost efficiency. Let’s get into the options within both relevant chiller types, why payback may be shorter than expected, and the assorted potential benefits from lower costs to higher reliability. Some tips from an array of manufacturers’ reps round out this useful investigation.

Marcia Karr, P.E.

April 1, 2016

There are many who believe that combined heat and power (CHP) will be the norm in building design for the next generation of engineers.

Absorption Chillers For Institutional Occpancies

Absorption Chillers For Institutional Occupancies

Marcia Karr, P.E.

February 1, 2016

It’s not necessarily a plug-and-play situation, but these chillers can play key roles and deliver meaningful savings in several scenarios. Waste heat, CCHP, standalone, and even renewable solar as part of the refrigeration cycle can all provide the setting for absorption success.

Combined Heat & Power Really Is The Answer

Marcia Karr, P.E.

October 6, 2015

In today’s complex web of regulations, equipment and fuel options, and traditional threats to facility operations, it only makes sense to get up to speed on CHP.

So, You Have A Boiler System

Marcia Karr, P.E.

June 8, 2015

Whether low-cost adjustments, targeted replacements, or a substantial retrofit when large equipment has run its course, you almost always have a good move available to conserve energy and expense.

VRF Is Evolving

Marcia Karr, P.E.

February 3, 2015

While mechanical energy codes may lag relative to the efficiency targets of some other codes , the expansion of VRF into a wider range of equipment makes it easier than ever to exceed expectations. Perhaps more importantly, its incorporation into heat pumps, dehu-midifiers, compressors, and more represents more flexibility in delivering an effective retrofit without a total system overhaul.

Variable Refrigerant Flow vs. Building Codes

When newer technologies or techniques meet older codes written for an earlier version of engineering reality, the losers are the users and occupants.

Marcia Karr, P.E.

June 1, 2014

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) HVAC is quickly taking over market share of the industry for commercial buildings.

VRF Heat Pumps In The Real World

Wide temperature swings, submetering deficiencies, bloated carbon footprint … these are but three of the problems tackled in two contrasting projects in the Northwest.

Marcia Karr, P.E.

September 1, 2013

How is variable refrigerant flow (VRF) working for you? We asked a number of people that question and summarized the findings from two typical facilities here.

On Demand As AI workloads and high-density computing push traditional cooling methods to their limits, the data center industry is accelerating the adoption of next-generation HVAC technologies.

In this webinar, we'll walk you through exactly what to get in place before you add AI to your business. You'll leave with a clear picture of where you stand today and a practical action plan to set yourself up for real results.

Marcia Karr, P.E.

ARTICLES

Why Would A Hospital Consider Absorption Chillers?

Emergency Generators In Health Care: Diesel Or Natural Gas?

Data Centers & Ab/Adsorption Chillers

Absorption Chillers For Institutional Occupancies

Combined Heat & Power Really Is The Answer

So, You Have A Boiler System

VRF Is Evolving

Variable Refrigerant Flow vs. Building Codes

VRF Heat Pumps In The Real World

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