Executive summary. by Fran Selvaggio

Transcription

1 AR0 by Fran Selvaggio Executive summary Laboratories face competing imperatives: the need to maintain safety and compliance in air flows, temperature and other environmental conditions, while also reducing energy use and costs. While compliance regulations get tougher, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates lab energy use could be safely reduced by 30% or more nationwide. This paper explains a four-step approach to driving and maintaining energy efficiency in laboratory facilities.

2 Introduction The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that reducing laboratory energy use by 30% a goal it considers possible would reduce US national energy consumption by 84 trillion Btus. That represents a savings equivalent to removing 1.3 million cars from our highways. 1 Laboratories face unique challenges in order to achieve these goals. One challenge is that laboratories are required to adhere to regulatory standards for environmental conditions such as temperature and air quality. Another challenge is that most labs lack of a standard approach for reducing energy use and costs. Compared to an office building, the average laboratory consumes ten times more energy per square foot (see Figure 1). Some labs use as much as 100 times more energy. 2 Lab owners and managers recognize these facts and are focused on improving energy management. In fact, According to Tradeline, the # 2 priority for biocontainment facilities is controlling OpEx (behind safety through pressure & airflow control). 3 Of course, not all labs are the same. Some are stand-alone structures, and some are part of a larger building or campus. High-containment labs, which work with potentially dangerous biological agents, must meet higher standards for public safety and may be less concerned with cost than a laboratory in a typical university or private research, where the primary concern is to protect the research itself. Vivariums, or animal labs, have their own special challenges related to the care of the animals. Despite these differences, opportunities exist in nearly every lab to reduce energy use, while improving compliance to required environmental standards. This paper explains a four-part approach for driving and maintaining energy efficiency in laboratory facilities. Figure 1 Energy use index by building sector and site energy use in laboratory buildings. 1 Laboratories for the 21st Century Labs21 Benchmarking Tool. 2 Kaushansky, Jeff Laboratories for the 21st Century: Case Studies Pharmacia Building Q, Skokie, Illinois. J. G. Maine Laboratories for the 21st Century, Tradeline, 2013 Priorities for Biocontainment Facilities, Dec 4, 2012, Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 2

3 While every laboratory s requirements are different and details will vary, experience has shown that successful energy efficiency programs follow a four-part life cycle approach (see Figure 2): 1. Energy audit and measure: Collect the data and analyze 2. Fix the basics: Deploy low cost, high yield fixes to blatant energy waste 3. Optimize through automation and regulation: Integrate energy management into everyday processes through use of modern, high efficiency technologies 4. Monitor, maintain, and improve: ensure savings are embedded and sustained These steps are best practice in any industry, but they are especially applicable to laboratories, where environmental controls and associated energy use are both a significant operational cost and a critical investment in quality and compliance. The following sections illustrate how the four steps should be implemented in a laboratory environment. Figure 2 The energy management lifecycle leverages the deployment of both passive and active efficiency best practices 1. Energy audit and measure Laying the foundation As the saying goes, You can t manage what you don t measure. Achieving an active energy management model starts with the collection of data to monitor and measure how and where energy is used. In most laboratories, that means monitoring several utility types from primary sources such as gas and electricity to secondary media such as steam, hot and chilled water, and compressed air. Each has its associated energy cost and CO 2 footprint. Gathering accurate and relevant information from all of these utilities lays the foundation for an effective plan. Data collection - Utility meter and billing data is a good starting point. This can be useful for identifying standing load or idle time consumption and reviewing tariff suitability, but gives only a highly aggregated view without the granularity necessary to pinpoint energy waste. To generate more useful information, a metering strategy should be developed that m ay include, for example, the ability to account for 90% of energy by end-use type, provide individual metering of loads and feeders of a certain size, and monitor all energy streams by lab facility Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 3

4 or department. Companies should plan for rolling out metering to existing equipment and set standards for new lab purchases. Modern meters can facilitate remote automatic data collection. Often existing site networks or wireless technology can be used to concentrate data and share it with users via dedicated PCs or web-based tools. This simplifies the process of gathering energy consumption data as well as richer information useful for site operations such as electrical maximum demand and power quality both of which can have their impact on energy costs. Auditing - Further data collection should be managed through structured audits of the existing facilities, with clearly defined scope and deliverables. Audit approaches can range from a one or two day walkthrough of key energy consuming areas, to a comprehensive audit with detailed recommendations and estimates for energy saving opportunities. Whatever approach is taken, audit outcomes should focus on producing an energy action plan that includes detailed costs and savings potential. Performance contracts - It is often possible to guarantee savings through a performance contract. Under this scenario, the risk and reward is shared with the supplier. Following an audit, an energy action plan is developed and savings opportunities estimated and evaluated. The savings generated from implementing the plan are used to help pay for the cost of the capital equipment over a specified number of years minimizing the financial risk to the organization. This approach necessitates a higher level of monitoring before and after interventions, with a higher level of involvement from both parties and a more detailed contractual agreement. 2. Fix the basics Upgrade and improve to reduce losses Once energy data has been captured and analyzed, the next step is to use that data to reduce energy waste. Laboratories often start with the basics: using passive energy efficiency measures to reduce losses from energy consuming devices. A variety of technologies exist to help improve energy efficiency. Examples of passive energy efficiency approaches include: Low energy lighting Low loss transformers High efficiency motors The importance of motors - Motors should be a major focus of energy efficiency measures, since they typically consume a large percentage of the electrical energy in a lab facility, much of it related to HVAC systems. New motor efficiency standards have attempted to unify the various approaches around the world and now provide benchmarks used by governments to legislate on minimum efficiency performance standards. However, these generally only apply to new motor purchases. In some cases legislation is phased in over many years and there are generous extensions to allow for depletion of existing stocks. Laboratories should create a motor management policy to improve the efficiency of this significant asset base, including: Audits to understand the existing asset base and benchmark against current high efficiency standards Identify motor efficiency upgrade opportunities Determine a repair/replace policy (note that rewound motors typically lose 1 to 1.5% efficiency each time) Don t rely on long lead in legislation update specifications for high efficiency motors and include those for OEM purchased equipment. A motor running 24/7 may well consume the equivalent of its capital cost in energy, within weeks Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 4

5 The human factor - Any energy efficiency program must also address the human aspect people s activities and actions have a real impact on the consumption of energy. Employees need to be engaged and their cooperation and expertise harnessed. This can be done in a variety of ways, from awareness programs and incentive contests, to formal training on procedures. The exact approach will vary for each laboratory and location, but the key is to remember that energy efficiency is not just an equipment issue; it is a behavioral issue as well. Motivating and educating employees will improve the effectiveness of any energy efficiency action. 3. Optimize through automation and control Active Energy Efficiency The passive measures described in Step 2 are important to implement. However, to have an effective energy management program, active energy efficiency should be embedded into the laboratory through automated control systems. Active energy reduction is challenging in laboratories, where maintaining the proper environment is critical to safety, compliance and research success. This is especially true for high-containment laboratories, where there is an overriding need to ensure containment of highly pathogenic organisms and to meet rigorous regulatory standards. But with careful measuring and auditing, it is usually possible to find energy waste that can be safely eliminated, without harming compliance or quality in any way. Real auditing examples of energy waste include basic problems such as heating and cooling demand fighting, humidity controls set much lower than tolerances require, and no set back to temper conditions for when the lab is not in use. Correcting such problems can yield significant savings, often for little investment. Optimize air flow rates - Air flow systems are especially critical in laboratories, where 100% fresh air is often required, with additional filtering, treating and conditioning to maintain the correct temperature and humidity. In many labs, ventilation systems alone can account for up to 80% of the energy consumption. Much of this energy use can be safely reduced, with the proper monitoring and controls. Often, actual flow rates are much higher than design requirements, and sometimes even the design flow rates are higher than needed due to change of use. Variable speed drives - Control of motor speed, using variable speed drives (VSD), is the most effective way to manage air flow rates. VSDs are easy to retrofit with minimal disruption. Flow rates can be controlled either directly at the VSD or through the building management systems (BMS). Typically, pressure sensors are used to control flow, enabling automated changes to be made according to requirements for example, full design flow rate when the laboratory is being used and relaxed levels for down periods. Pressure sensors fitted across a filter can trigger increased fan speed to adjust for the degradation of the filter. Control systems can be set to provide a maintenance alert when it becomes economical to change the filter and so reduce the fan power. Integration with building automation - When making decisions about a lab s air flow rate, remember that very few labs exist in a sealed environment. Air flow in the lab is affected by air pressure and conditions in the building where the lab resides. Best practice today is to integrate lab systems with other building automation systems, to optimize both overall air flow performance and energy use. Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 5

6 Improve the exhaust system - Exhaust systems merit particular attention they comprise up to 40% of the ventilation system's energy use, and as much as 30% of a lab's total energy consumption. 4 The good news is that, by using automated monitoring and control systems; it is often possible to safely reduce energy use in lab exhaust systems by as much as 50%, which would reduce a lab's total energy use by 15%. By using automated monitoring and control systems; it is often possible to safely reduce energy use in lab exhaust systems by as much as 50%. Accurate set points - Exhaust systems in labs are typically maintained at full power on a constant basis 24x7 in many labs. Furthermore, these settings are usually based on worstcase scenarios for wind conditions and contaminants. In the case of wind, for example, the most extreme conditions rarely occur. And in the case of contaminants, the EPA states that: "An overly conservative judgment about the potential toxicity of an exhaust stream may result in a high-energy use exhaust system as volume flow or exit velocity is increased unnecessarily." The agency recommends that exhaust flow be based on scientific measurements of actual contaminants, adjusting exhaust flow accordingly to achieve "an exhaust system that yields acceptable air quality while consuming a minimum amount of energy." 5 For example, based on the experience of operating research labs that have used air qualit y monitors in their exhaust flow, it has been found that worst-case airflow rates are needed only about 12 hours per year which means that lower set points could be used, if proper monitoring were in place, as much as 99% of the time. One laboratory was able to reduce exhaust-related energy use to just 10% of previous levels, through the use of a staged variable-air-volume (VAV) system with anemometer control. This resulted in annual savings of $81,000, plus an additional bonus of $90,000 from the utility company for the conservation measures. 6 Manifold exhaust systems - According to Laboratories for the 21st Century, a manifold exhaust system should be used where possible. This approach, with a primary fan and a backup unit in a common duct system, is more efficient than separately ducted, multiple exhaust fans. A paper from their web site names four ways a manifold exhaust system saves energy: Reduces fan power Provides adjustable airflow that can modulate energy use to varying requirements Requires less energy to disperse exhaust plumes Increases energy recovery opportunities Experience has shown that during laboratory retrofit projects, manifold exhaust systems reduce construction costs and help avoid operational disruptions. Pumping systems - Variable speed drives, mentioned previously, can also provide significant energy savings in pumping systems by varying flow rates according to system demand instead of operating at a fixed volume. Common applications include chilled and hot water distribution to air handling units and cooling towers. 4 Environmental Protection Agency, Best Practices: Modeling Exhaust Dispersion for Specifying Acceptable Exhaust/Intake Designs. Laboratories for the 21st Century, Environmental Protection Agency2005 DOE/GO Reifschnieder, Jeff D., Carter, John J., Cochran, Brad C," Saving Energy in Lab Exhaust Systems", ASHRAE Journal, June Manifolding Laboratory Exhaust Systems, Laboratories of the 21st Century Best Practices Guide, Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 6

7 Occupancy monitoring - Occupancy monitoring is another way to use variable controls. Simple presence detectors, CO 2 monitors, and access control systems can be used to control lighting and HVAC systems dependent upon changing use. Occupancy monitoring may not be possible in many labs (such as vivarium labs), or may be limited to certain areas of a building. Where practical, however, this approach can yield important savings. 4. Monitor, maintain and improve Ensure the benefits are sustained Energy efficiency is not a one-time project, but a never-ending process of continual monitoring, maintenance, and improvement. Otherwise, the savings from the initial project will diminish over time. For example, while robust automation, control, and monitoring can deliver savings of up to 30%, evidence suggests that 8% of these savings are lost annually without appropriate monitoring and maintenance (see Figure 3). There are many reasons for this, from changing conditions to human activities. For example, audit experience has regularly found control systems that are bypassed, perhaps sometimes for good short-term operational reasons. However, these overrides can accumulate astonishing levels of energy waste over time. Managing ongoing performance is not without challenges. Many labs have seen maintenance resources and budgets shrinking, so their focus tends to be on the elements critical to their mission, and the utility systems may be neglected. Even with regular maintenance checks (which typically happen annually at best), equipment failures may go unnoticed for many months or longer. To ensure the continuing efficacy of all energy saving measures, management must commit to a vigorous program of actively monitoring data from the lab, analyzing and identifying anomalies, and then acting upon this information in a timely manner. Modeling lab performance - An important key to ongoing monitoring is to understand the performance of the facility as whole. This is a complex task, because it involves the correlation of a number of variables. For laboratory HVAC systems, the weather impacts energy consumption by affecting heating, cooling, and humidification requirements. Facility utilization and occupancy also have an impact. Figure 3 Initial efficiency gains can be undermined if no attention is paid to proper monitoring and maintenance Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 7

8 Correlating all of the appropriate variables in energy consumption results in a powerful model that can be used as a tool to witness what is actually happening. Modern monitoring and targeting software provides analysis tools to build such models. These tools may vary from simple regression analysis to multi-variable models with step functions. The step function is particularly suited to correlating energy usage with outside temperatures, to reflect the change between heating and cooling in response to external conditions. This can reveal how well HVAC system controls are functioning and how effectively control dead bands have been set. Establishing a model for the laboratory provides an independent baseline for future energy management actions. It also provides a basis for targeting and monitoring energy savings at the facility, department or equipment level. This normalization allows accurate tracking of savings when making before and after comparisons of energy improvement implementations. Most importantly, lab behavior can be monitored, and unwarranted increases in energy consumption can be identified which might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Lab managers become well informed and armed to root out and rectify any problems which may arise, whether from system failure, control settings, or worker-based behavior. The resource challenge - Even well designed systems require a level of maintenance and regular review to ensure they remain optimally set for the ever-changing circumstances of the modern laboratory facility and this requires staff resources that may be scarce or stretched too thin. Building Management Systems (BMS) tightly integrated with laboratory air-flow control systems can help. These systems, which provide control and automation functions for a facility s plant, can also provide essential monitoring capability to identify energy issues and anomalies. Any competent system will provide comprehensive alarming functionality, but often a certain level of expertise is needed to interrogate the system on a routine basis to find deeper rooted problems and energy waste. One solution is to outsource this expertise and use a remote bureau to monitor energy management systems (EMS) and BMS. These can provide services on a 24x365 basis, such as: Energy reporting and dashboards Alerting for anomalous consumption Expert analysis and reporting on energy saving opportunities BMS alarm handling and reporting, and even maintenance response services triggered by the alarms, without end user intervention BMS optimization services Whether or not outside resources are used, an effective approach to monitoring will focus on those maintenance efforts that are most important and promise the greatest return, thus ensuring the effective use of finite resources. Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 8

9 2013 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. Four Steps for Improving Energy Efficiency in Laboratories Conclusion Energy has become a major business factor in laboratories and will remain so for the foreseeable future, for reasons of cost, compliance and good public citizenship. Laboratories striving to excel in energy efficiency, whether for cost savings or meeting their environmental goals, will reach a point when significant capital expenditure (CapEx) is necessary. Typical investments of this type include higher high-efficiency chillers or boilers, combined heat and power plant, or one of the many renewable energy generation technologies. The steps outlined in this paper will ensure that these investments are in support of optimized and sustainable loads, and that further investments will produce the predicted benefits. Energy planning thus increases the reliability and confidence in critical CapEx decisions, by providing a strategic rationale with the supporting data to back it up. By following the four steps that comprise best practice energy management energy audit and measure; fix the basics; optimize through automation and regulation; monitor, maintain and improve laboratories can excel at energy efficiency and cost reduction. At the same time, they help ensure and document that energy programs are sustainable, and meet qualit y and regulatory requirements. Energy management is not an easy process and requires time and effort. But experience has shown that laboratories that adopt an active energy efficiency approach combined with the commitment in cost and resources have seen their efforts pay off handsomely in reduced energy cost and waste, improved efficiency, and long-term sustainability. About the author Fran Selvaggio is a Global Application Engineer for Schneider Electric's Life Sciences solution team. He holds bachelor s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University. Previous to his career with Schneider Electric, Mr. Selvaggio served as a Consultant and Project Engineer for Amgen. He also lived in Singapore for 5 years where he worked for Merck Sharp & Dohme as a Project Engineer for Building Automation and Security Services. Schneider Electric White Paper Revision 0 Page 9