I'm trying to figure out a way to model utility rates using a campus chiller. The building is billed by the ton of chilled water used. If anyone can help me find a way to do this it would be greatly appreciated.
With some luck, the campus will know how they've derived the ton-hr billing
rate and you could apply those unit rates and overhead factors to your
single building. Much of the time, though, the billing rates are "seat of
the pants"-based or were developed long ago by people who no longer work
there..... Good luck!
Also - if you're doing this for LEED documentation and the project was
registered AFTER May 28th 2008, you will need to comply with the
modeling protocols in this document:
Otherwise, the best way to do this is to get the rates (as James has
described below) and set up a steam meter and utility rate based on the
rate. Make sure that the chilled water rate calculated takes into
account the cooling tower loads as well.
Lastly - you will find that when you model the chilled water rates, your
utility bills probably go down (or they should), while your energy use
goes up. I had a similar issue and was confused, until it was pointed
out to me that the cooling energy reported in the BEPU report is
actually the space cooling load and not the actual energy. In reality,
if you have a campus chiller that runs at 0.65 kW/ton and with cooling
tower energy (pumps fans etc) it goes up to 0.75 kW/ton, then you need
to factor that in to get the actual cooling energy. Keep in mind - you
only need to factor in the heat rejection energy (cooling tower fans &
pumps) - not the chilled water loop energy - that should already be
modeled. If your COP of the system - chiller+heat rejection is 4 (for
simplicity), then your actual cooling load is 1/4th the reported load.
We're starting major expansion of our renewable energy and built
environment
research group based at Lews Castle College UHI in Stornoway, Scotland.
We're
recruiting researchers and developing two new energy research
laboratories.
For more detail email: valarie.ferguson at lews.uhi.ac.uk
* READER - Energy and Built Environment Research ~ Ref: LCCGR/15 ?
Salary
negotiable You will be responsible for major research deliverables
focused on
renewable energy and the built environment. You will supervise a team
of energy
research experts and support the development of new state-of-the-art
Energy
Visualisation and Low Carbon Buildings Laboratories. You will
contribute
substantially to the long-term sustainability of the research
programme, help
bring the institution to national and international prominence in the
energy
field and strongly influence related teaching developments. You will
have a PhD
in physics, engineering or a related discipline and have a strong and
growing
reputation in energy and built environment research. Extensive
experience of
advanced simulation tools such as Trnsys and Fluent is highly
desirable.
* Research Associate Ref: LCCGR/12 Salary range ?24,000- ?30,000
The
successful candidate will be a key part of a team that is developing
and
implementing high-performance comput-ational software tools for
modelling
energy flow in the built environment. You will be responsible for
development
and visualisation of computational fluid dynamic solutions of
thermodynamic
equations with emphasis on wind, fluid and solar modelling. You will
have a
Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Physics or related engineering or
science
discipline, a deep knowledge of numerical analysis, scientific
computing, and
nonlinear systems and knowledge of numerical methods.
* Energy Engineer Ref: LCCGR/20 Salary range ?25,000- ?34,000 The
main
function of the post is to provide energy engineering and laboratory
management
support for a high quality applied research programme in renewable and
low
carbon energy system solutions. Research topics encompass built
environment,
wind, solar, heat pump, and hydrogen technologies. Laboratory and
field
instrumentation will include thermographic, optical, and acoustic
sensing
systems. You will have extensive industry or engineering lab experience
and
will possess diverse applied skills in mechanical, electronic or
building
services engineering, with the ability to proceed from an engineering
design
phase to workshop prototype implementation and with a strong
practical,
hands-on focus. You will have an HND or degree in an engineering or
science
discipline.
* Research Associate Ref: LCCGR/9 Salary range ?24,000- ?30,000
The
successful candidate will be responsible for research in energy
economics.
Regional energy models, GIS models and case studies will be developed
supported
by tools such as Markal/Times, GreenNet and eTransport. You will have a
first
degree in Engineering or related science discipline, and a Ph.D with a
strong
emphasis on energy economics. Experience of GIS modelling is
desirable.
* Researchers (7 positions) Ref: LCCGR/6, LCCGR/7, LCCGR/10,
LCCGR/11,
LCCGR/13, LCCGR/14, LCCGR/18 Salary package up to ?16,000 Candidates
are
sought for experimental and theoretical research posts to work on
energy and
built environment projects, including energy software tool development,
wind
and solar systems, weather datasets, energy economics, novel building
materials, dynamic insulation, fuel cells and heat pumps. Research
project
durations of 1.5 and 3.5 years are available depending on aptitude and
preference. Applicants will be able to register with UHI Millennium
Institute
for M.Sc or PhD degrees in the field of Sustainability Studies. You
will have a
2.1 honours degree or above in a science, software, economics or
geography
related discipline.
* Software Engineer Ref: LCCGR/4 Salary range ?16,000- ?22,000 The
successful candidate will be responsible for further research and
development
of advanced software tools developed by the group. You will have
extensive
experience of the Google SketchUp API, Ruby, Java and Hibernate
software
frameworks and SQL databases. You will have a 2.1 honours degree or
above in a
Computing Science or related discipline.
Dear Gregg,
With some luck, the campus will know how they've derived the ton-hr billing
rate and you could apply those unit rates and overhead factors to your
single building. Much of the time, though, the billing rates are "seat of
the pants"-based or were developed long ago by people who no longer work
there..... Good luck!
James V. Dirkes II, P.E., LEED AP
Also - if you're doing this for LEED documentation and the project was
registered AFTER May 28th 2008, you will need to comply with the
modeling protocols in this document:
http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=4176
Otherwise, the best way to do this is to get the rates (as James has
described below) and set up a steam meter and utility rate based on the
rate. Make sure that the chilled water rate calculated takes into
account the cooling tower loads as well.
Lastly - you will find that when you model the chilled water rates, your
utility bills probably go down (or they should), while your energy use
goes up. I had a similar issue and was confused, until it was pointed
out to me that the cooling energy reported in the BEPU report is
actually the space cooling load and not the actual energy. In reality,
if you have a campus chiller that runs at 0.65 kW/ton and with cooling
tower energy (pumps fans etc) it goes up to 0.75 kW/ton, then you need
to factor that in to get the actual cooling energy. Keep in mind - you
only need to factor in the heat rejection energy (cooling tower fans &
pumps) - not the chilled water loop energy - that should already be
modeled. If your COP of the system - chiller+heat rejection is 4 (for
simplicity), then your actual cooling load is 1/4th the reported load.
Hope this helps
Vikram Sami, LEED AP
JOBS AT GREENSPACE RESEARCH
We're starting major expansion of our renewable energy and built
environment
research group based at Lews Castle College UHI in Stornoway, Scotland.
We're
recruiting researchers and developing two new energy research
laboratories.
http://www.greenspaceresearch.com/assets/Greenspace_Research_vacancies.pdf
For more detail email: valarie.ferguson at lews.uhi.ac.uk
* READER - Energy and Built Environment Research ~ Ref: LCCGR/15 ?
Salary
negotiable You will be responsible for major research deliverables
focused on
renewable energy and the built environment. You will supervise a team
of energy
research experts and support the development of new state-of-the-art
Energy
Visualisation and Low Carbon Buildings Laboratories. You will
contribute
substantially to the long-term sustainability of the research
programme, help
bring the institution to national and international prominence in the
energy
field and strongly influence related teaching developments. You will
have a PhD
in physics, engineering or a related discipline and have a strong and
growing
reputation in energy and built environment research. Extensive
experience of
advanced simulation tools such as Trnsys and Fluent is highly
desirable.
* Research Associate Ref: LCCGR/12 Salary range ?24,000- ?30,000
The
successful candidate will be a key part of a team that is developing
and
implementing high-performance comput-ational software tools for
modelling
energy flow in the built environment. You will be responsible for
development
and visualisation of computational fluid dynamic solutions of
thermodynamic
equations with emphasis on wind, fluid and solar modelling. You will
have a
Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Physics or related engineering or
science
discipline, a deep knowledge of numerical analysis, scientific
computing, and
nonlinear systems and knowledge of numerical methods.
* Energy Engineer Ref: LCCGR/20 Salary range ?25,000- ?34,000 The
main
function of the post is to provide energy engineering and laboratory
management
support for a high quality applied research programme in renewable and
low
carbon energy system solutions. Research topics encompass built
environment,
wind, solar, heat pump, and hydrogen technologies. Laboratory and
field
instrumentation will include thermographic, optical, and acoustic
sensing
systems. You will have extensive industry or engineering lab experience
and
will possess diverse applied skills in mechanical, electronic or
building
services engineering, with the ability to proceed from an engineering
design
phase to workshop prototype implementation and with a strong
practical,
hands-on focus. You will have an HND or degree in an engineering or
science
discipline.
* Research Associate Ref: LCCGR/9 Salary range ?24,000- ?30,000
The
successful candidate will be responsible for research in energy
economics.
Regional energy models, GIS models and case studies will be developed
supported
by tools such as Markal/Times, GreenNet and eTransport. You will have a
first
degree in Engineering or related science discipline, and a Ph.D with a
strong
emphasis on energy economics. Experience of GIS modelling is
desirable.
* Researchers (7 positions) Ref: LCCGR/6, LCCGR/7, LCCGR/10,
LCCGR/11,
LCCGR/13, LCCGR/14, LCCGR/18 Salary package up to ?16,000 Candidates
are
sought for experimental and theoretical research posts to work on
energy and
built environment projects, including energy software tool development,
wind
and solar systems, weather datasets, energy economics, novel building
materials, dynamic insulation, fuel cells and heat pumps. Research
project
durations of 1.5 and 3.5 years are available depending on aptitude and
preference. Applicants will be able to register with UHI Millennium
Institute
for M.Sc or PhD degrees in the field of Sustainability Studies. You
will have a
2.1 honours degree or above in a science, software, economics or
geography
related discipline.
* Software Engineer Ref: LCCGR/4 Salary range ?16,000- ?22,000 The
successful candidate will be responsible for further research and
development
of advanced software tools developed by the group. You will have
extensive
experience of the Google SketchUp API, Ruby, Java and Hibernate
software
frameworks and SQL databases. You will have a 2.1 honours degree or
above in a
Computing Science or related discipline.
Dr. Neil Finlayson