Ionel Petrus, P.E.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 99 is a code that sets vital health care safety regulations for the protection of patients, staff, and the general public within health care facilities. 

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 99 is a code that sets vital healthcare safety regulations for the protection of patients, staff, and the general public within healthcare facilities. 

It is the opinion of these authors that designing a central utility plant (CUP) presents the most exciting engineering challenge in one’s career. 

Our industry has traditionally relied heavily on fossil fuels, including natural gas, to provide heating and hot water for commercial buildings. 

The way we control the speed of fan motors or pump motors has tremendously changed in the past two decades with the introduction of variable-frequency drives (VFDs), aka variable-frequency controllers (VFCs).

In the event a generator fails to start or enter an overload condition, steps must be taken to selectively reduce the emergency load.

To understand how a pump is going to be controlled, one first needs to understand the pump curve.

Considering the myriad of options in front of us, where does one start in the process of designing and/or installing a BAS?

Air cleanliness, space pressurization, required air changes, and equipment placement are just a few of the many important factors that must be considered

Phasing, harmonics, and controls are just a few of the design items that need to be considered early in the design process.