Commercial & Institutional
Inside and Out: Integrated Building Facade and HVAC Design
This session provides an overview of the interactions between the building façade and HVAC systems. By distilling this subject into macro and micro level themes, we hope to broaden the understanding of what is needed to design and construct a high performing system. Integration is particularly critical when designing to the trend of highly glazed buildings required to meet increasingly stringent energy targets. While radiant HVAC strategies offer improved energy performance, they have limited peak capacities due to installation and cost restrictions. This places critical importance on measures to minimize peak envelope loads, ensuring that the more efficient radiant HVAC design strategy remains logistically viable. Using relevant project examples, we will break down building loads, explore different HVAC system strategies, and highlight the role of measurement and verification to ensure performance. Construction management and commissioning experience will inform recommendations to avoid common design and installation pitfalls.
Solar Air Heating 2.0
You think trombe walls are a relic of the 70s, right? Using extensive data from multiple case studies throughout Maine, New Hampshire & Massachusetts, including a high school, a fire station and a public works facility, this session will review the potential of modern commercial and industrial solar air heating in the Northeast. We will examine cost and performance viability with live and historical energy, temperature and air flow data as well as explore the impacts of design variations such as collector types, air flow rates, system sizes and HVAC design.
Adventures In Building Science – Multi-Family Construction
In multi-family construction it is increasingly common to get a combination of concrete and steel and curtain wall on the first floor and wood frame on the upper floors. Are we combining the worst of residential and commercial? Or are we getting the best of residential and commercial? How do you specify, design and construct these types of enclosures? How do you “compartmentalize” these units? How do you ventilate these units? How do you condition these units? Roof design and wall design options will be discussed.