With variable refrigerant flow (VRF) HVAC systems growing in popularity, engineering refrigeration systems can become very intimidating to many design engineers.

We are in a new era — a time of increased realization that the indoor environment has a powerful influence on human health.

This is my third column presenting a real-life example of how trend analysis, if done thoughtfully, can uncover wasted energy even when the system appears to be functioning well.

Continuing with the theme from last month, this column presents another real-life example of how trend analysis, if done thoughtfully, can uncover wasted energy that no one even suspected.

Whether it’s new construction commissioning or existing building retro-commissioning, “commissioning” is about entire systems and their performance.

There are some building types and/or organizations that are nearly always undergoing some sort of facility upgrade, modification, and/or expansion to accommodate evolving needs.

Engineering departments in today’s health care environment are tasked with an ever-growing list of responsibilities, such as emergency readiness, PMs, reactive maintenance, ensuring regulatory compliance, managing infection control, maintaining life cycle budgets, managing utility spend, and the list goes on.