Euclid Chemical, based in Cleveland, has been supplying the construction industry with products to improve the strength, appearance, and usability of concrete since 1910. Now a large, multi-national corporation, Euclid Chemical’s main offices are in a two-story, 15,000 square foot building that also contains laboratories where they develop products ranging from sealants to micro synthetic fibers.
Until recently, the building relied upon an aging VAV system with terminal reheat to keep their offices comfortable and to maintain environmental conditions in the laboratories. Even when new, records showed the system had not performed as designed. This inadequate performance was compounded by cumulative effects of years of normal wear and tear along with questionable modifications.
Ultimately, the system no longer kept people comfortable, broke down frequently and was incredibly inefficient. After analyzing the utility bills, Joe Messer, Director of Engineering for Euclid Chemical, realized that building had an average annual energy use of 38 kWh/square foot -- over twice the average consumption for offices in the same geographic area, and more than most of Euclid’s manufacturing facilities. Messer knew Euclid Chemical needed to upgrade to a dependable and efficient system that would meet their needs for years to come.
CRITERIA:
The building housed both office areas and laboratories, so throughout the facility the system had to provide individual temperature control which, at any given time, may require both heating and cooling in different areas.
In the lab, the system also had to account for the unique challenge of quickly adapting to rapidly changing make-up air requirements as laboratory fume hoods started and stopped. It also had to work in the Ohio climate where the outdoor temperature ranged from sub-zero weather in the winter to humid high-90’s in the summer. But above all else, the system had to have a manageable upfront cost and an attractive payback to the Euclid financial team.
SOLUTION:
Messer began the process of finding a new solution and reached out to trusted engineer Andy Culberson of Geisel Heating and Cooling. Culberson identified VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) technology as the optimum solution, and reached out to Peter Eno of Refrigeration Sales Corporation to collaborate on a best-in-class solution based on VRF technology from LG Electronics. Together they designed a system around LG Multi-V heat recovery systems.
The bulky 50 ton DX unit on the roof was replaced by a pair of small air-cooled outdoor units on the ground, and the VAV boxes inside the building were replaced with LG’s concealed high-static VRF indoor units. To account for the need for ventilation air and makeup air when the laboratory fume hoods were in use, a small makeup air unit with a water heating coil was added to provide ventilation air at a high-static pressure to the LG VRF indoor units. Since this was 100 percent outdoor air, the airflow could be adjusted to precisely meet the ventilation requirements as they changed. The LG Multi V is a heat recovery system, so it can heat the zones that need it while cooling others simultaneously which delivers precise temperature in all parts of the facility regardless of Ohio’s weather, including subzero winters.
After they presented the system proposal, everyone at Euclid Chemical was sold on the concept. Based on the problems and poor performance of the existing system, Messer conservatively estimated the new system would cut their utility bills by 40 percent. What’s more, they could reuse the existing distribution and supply ductwork, reducing upfront installation costs, which further sold the financial team.
RESULTS:
Once construction was completed, the system performance exceeded expectations, according to Messer. After implementation, the facility saw a 70 percent annual energy reduction compared to the average of the previous five years. (See graph.)
Equally important, the new system provides a quiet, comfortable environment for people to work. “Employees have definitely noticed an improvement in comfort,” said Messer. “This allowed us to focus on our core business instead of worrying about HVAC.” He is currently evaluating other buildings within the Euclid portfolio and, not surprisingly, he’s considering LG VRF solutions.
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2014
USGBC announces 2014 Best of Green Schools honorees
Houston's Monarch School was named the K-12 school of the year, and Western Michigan University was honored as the top higher-ed institution, based on environmental programs and education efforts.
| Nov 25, 2014
Behnisch Architekten unveils design for energy-positive building in Boston
The multi-use building for Artists For Humanity that is slated to be the largest energy positive commercial building in New England.
| Nov 20, 2014
Survey: 84% of data center owners want more renewable energy options
The cost of producing wind and solar power has decreased 58% and 40%, respectively, during the past five years, making renewables more cost-competitive with traditional fuel sources in many markets.
| Nov 12, 2014
Chesapeake Bay Foundation completes uber-green Brock Environmental Center, targets Living Building certification
More than a decade after opening its groundbreaking Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the group is back at it with a structure designed to be net-zero water, net-zero energy, and net-zero waste.
| Oct 27, 2014
Report estimates 1.2 million people experience LEED-certified retail centers daily
The "LEED In Motion: Retail" report includes USGBC’s conceptualization of the future of retail, emphasizing the economic and social benefit of green building for retailers of all sizes and types.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Sep 15, 2014
Sustainability rating systems: Are they doomed?
None of the hundreds of existing green building rating systems is perfect. Some of them are too documentation-heavy. Some increase short-term project cost. Some aren’t rigorous enough or include contentious issues, writes HDR's Michaella Wittmann.
| Sep 7, 2014
Building the cladding palette: panels, rainscreens, and veneers [AIA course]
When it comes to cost, performance, and aesthetics—not to mention maintenance and long-term resilience—the evaluation of cladding materials and façade systems is more complex than ever. This course is worth 1.0 AIA CES HSW learning units.
| Aug 11, 2014
New guide for prevention of thermal bridging in commercial buildings
The guide aims to overcome obstacles with respect to mitigating thermal bridging to reduce energy consumption in buildings.
| Aug 4, 2014
Facebook’s prefab data center concept aims to slash construction time in half
Less than a year after opening its ultra-green, hydropowered data center facility in Luleå, Sweden, Facebook is back at it in Mother Svea with yet another novel approach to data center design.
