Next Practice in Rooftop HVAC Efficiency

Initiatives Meeting

June 27, 2012

Introduction and Importance

2 6/27/2012

Packaged air conditioners and heat pumps (RTUs) are used in about 46% of all commercial buildings, serving about 60% of the commercial building floor space (EIA 2003)

Average Product Size

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Perc

en

t o

f B

uild

ing

s

Building Average Tons per Unit

CBSA Data: Building Average Cooling Tons per Pack HVAC Unit (Systems <50 Tons Cooling per HVAC unit) n=1041

6/27/2012 3

64% of buildings <6 tons

79% of buildings <10 tons

PNW RTUs: An Aging Fleet…

Age Range Under 5 tons 5 to 10 tons Over 10 tons

44% 36% 20%

0 to 4 17% 30,000 24,000 14,000

5 to10 32% 56,000 46,000 26,000

10 to 19 35% 62,000 50,000 28,000

20+ years 16% 28,000 23,000 13,000

51% (204,000 units) have been on the roof for over a decade!

Prior and Ongoing Work

NBI • Design guidance, codes, and strategic planning

• RTU testing and analysis – M&V protocol

• Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD)

Partners • PECI – Implementation, Research, Market Characterization

• UC Davis – Multi-Tenant Light Commercial Market Characterization

• Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) – Research

• Western Cooling Efficiency Center – Research

5 6/27/2012

Savings Opportunities Exist

6 6/27/2012

Code

Existing Incentive

High Performance

Control Strategies

• High COP/EER – optimal and free cooling

• Exactly enough outside ventilation air

• Scheduled perfectly – consistent/optimal

• Occupants satisfied

• Long COP life span – maintenance

• Demand response enabled

Characteristics of an Ideal RTU

7 6/27/2012

Ideal RTU

High COP OA Schedule Occupants Life – Maint. DR

NBI’s Initiative Components

Components and Products Near

Term

Mid

Term

Long

Term

1 Establish Market Assessment Database around Small Commercial HVAC

X

2 Refine and Deploy Rooftop Unit Savings

Calculator X

3 Research and Compile High Performance

Control Strategies X X

4 Optimize Assessment Tools and Create

Performance Screening Tool X X

5 Update Prior HVAC System Design Best

Practices Guide X X

9 6/27/2012

Repair

Retrofit

Replace

Screening Tool

Other non-HVAC Programs

High Performance Strategies

Utility Program/Regulatory Framework

RTU Savings Calculator

Design

Guide Training

Owner

Resources

Small HVAC Market Assessment

• Catalog internal and partner sources to easily categorize light

commercial RTUs and building stock

• Identify best practices in existing HVAC efficiency programs

• Highlight and prioritize most promising savings opportunities

• Document current commercial RTU product mix and standard

practices

• Develop a roadmap for Next Generation HVAC program design

10 6/27/2012

Purpose: Secondary research to document current state of

market and programs to inform approach and further

research. Establish Technical Advisory Group.

RTU Savings Calculator

• Refine and share RTU calculator created for the Regional

Technical Forum (RTF)

• Continue to build on RTU savings calculator to optimize both

capabilities and usability

• Analyze current commercial HVAC product mix and standard

practices to establish baseline data

11 6/27/2012

Purpose: Provide savings justification analysis and

standardized M&V protocol for RTUs with simplified

integration into screening tool

Savings Potential Screening Tool

• Combine building attributes and metered data

• Examine other existing screening tool opportunities

• Design tool for both unit-specific and utility portfolio capabilities

• Support savings justifications with consistent updating

• Build engine for ‘tuning’ buildings to indicate best high performance control strategy

• Investigate RTU assessment as a tool for building owners

12 6/27/2012

Purpose: Leverage FirstView and EZ-Sim to develop a

simplified, data-driven, approach to assessing R-R-R

strategies for individual buildings/projects.

High Performance Control Strategies

Repair – Retrofit - Replace

Products and Programs High COP

OA Sch. Occ. Life –

Maint. DR

Air Care Plus (ACP) o X X

Commercial Quality Maintenance (CQM)

o X X

Honeywell Sensor Upgrade X X

13 6/27/2012

• Research additional repair measures and protocols to enhance the

repair opportunity

• Provide regular updates and additions to programmatic approaches

• Refine savings potential through RTU calculator and screening tool

• Summarize guidance for applicable training opportunities

High Performance Control Strategies

Repair – Retrofit - Replace

14 6/27/2012

Products and Retrofit Strategies

High COP

OA Sch. Occ. Life –

Maint. DR

Inside Controls o X X X

Outside Controls X X X X

FDD X

Remote Monitoring X X X X

• Provide framework for retrofit products and expected savings impacts.

• Update and share Fault Detection and Diagnostics (FDD) specification

• Ensure control strategies interface with Demand Response (DR) programs

• Research emerging tools and update retrofit strategy guidance

• Refine savings potential through RTU calculator and screening tool

High Performance Control Strategies

Repair – Retrofit - Replace

15 6/27/2012

Products and Replacement Strategies

High COP

OA Sch. Occ. Life –

Maint. DR

VRF + DOAS X X o o

Radiant + DOAS X X o o

Split System (+ DOAS) X X o o

DOE Challenge Units X X o o X

• Conduct research of whole building replacement strategies

• Align research results with screening tool analysis

• Integrate “best practices” into HVAC Design Guide

• Refine savings potential through RTU calculator and screening tool

Design Best Practices Guide

• Revise prior HVAC system best practices guide

• Expand to coordinate with ‘Replacement’ strategies

• Cover “hard to reach areas”:

• e.g. Right sizing, zoning, duct design, etc

• Incorporate HVAC control strategy best practices

• Consider Design for Meterability (DFM)

16 6/27/2012

Purpose: Inform design community particularly with regard

to replacement strategies, best practice controls, and code

interactions

Market Outreach and Intersection

• Examine lessons in market assessment,

Office of the Future, others

• Research potential outreach mechanisms:

– Training; Repair leads to Retrofit / Replace

– Direct to building owners/operators

• Work with HVAC technical advisors

• Leverage ‘nationwide’ data framework

17 6/27/2012

The End … or the Beginning?

18 6/27/2012

Catalyst Example

19 6/27/2012

Outdoor Controls

Outside Controls Upgrade

20 6/27/2012

Screening/Savings Calculator

21 6/27/2012

PNNL Research

• PNNL conducted modeling on HVAC

controls changes

• Mimicking Outdoor Controls package

22 6/27/2012