The control system includes variable frequency drives (VFDs), a duct sensor, and a separate factory-programmed logic controller (PLC) and can operate as a stand-alone or integrate with a building management system using BACnet.
This month’s B2B focuses on a new cooling tower to serve a pharmaceutical facility’s new process water system. This tower will be a closed-loop, evaporative condenser to operate 24/7/365.
Variable frequency drives (VFDs), also known as variable speed drives (VSDs), are used to modulate the speed of motors in various applications, from hydronic water pumping to VAV fan units to vacuum systems.
When the time comes to replace a cooling tower, all too often the recommendation is to source an identical replacement; however, cooling tower technology is evolving, and some building owners are reaping the rewards by researching the benefits of the newest options.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are energy intensive, and the HVAC system — the chilled water plant, the steam and hot water plant, and air distribution — typically consumes a full 65 percent of the energy used, according to research by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
A building’s hydronic HVAC system is rarely just the sum of its parts. The system is comprised of chillers, boilers, pumps, VFDs, AHUs, and valves that create a loop through which water is circulated to control the building’s temperature and its occupants’ comfort.
In 2016, Georgia Institute of Technology received permission from the state of Georgia to enter into a guaranteed $7.7 million energy savings performance contract (GESPC) to tackle any energy and water conservation project it wanted — as long as the project could pay for itself within seven years.