INNOVATIONS IN BUILDING CONTROLS
Controls Leader Brings Energy Savings Home When IoT-based smart green solutions provider Delta Controls designed its Fremont, California, headquarters in 2018, it knew it had to go above and beyond. It had to target zero energy—and that’s exactly what it accomplished with recent technology upgrades to its already sustainable facility. The company’s regional headquarters recently became the first green building in Fremont, and second in the Silicon Valley Bay Area, to achieve the LEED Zero Energy certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The accolade, granted to green buildings that generate as much electricity as they consume, was attained thanks to the further implementation of Delta’s own solutions in this originally LEED Platinum facility. Aided by an energy-conscious design that utilizes geographical advantages unique to Fremont while considering the
Delta Controls
By focusing on energy conservation in information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, buildings and factories, and by developing smart energy solutions (renewable energy, energy storage, EV charging) Delta aims to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a sustainable future—starting with its own facilities.
productivity and needs of its operations, the Delta Americas HQ building is an example of what a total integrated solution can look like. By focusing on energy conservation in information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, buildings and factories, and by developing smart energy solutions (renewable energy, energy storage, EV charging) Delta aims to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a sustainable future—starting with its own facilities. Delta invested in a comprehensive solar energy solution that covers nearly the entire area of the 180,000-square-foot facility at a total cost of approximately $1.5 million. Optimized energy management is also attained by the implementation of Delta’s next-generation SCADA system and building control platform. These platforms integrate seamlessly with the existing building sub-systems, such as HVAC, LED lighting and other energy-intensive applications, to create set points, collect data and track trends, create reports and manage alarms, remotely. With unlimited scalability, this solution grows with the facility as new solutions are integrated to ensure lower energy consumption.
Contractor-designed Monitor Keeps Tabs on Building Performance for K-12 School Founded in 1948 in St. Paul, Minn., Harris is dedicated to building relationships with and being a trusted partner for clients. The Harris-Schaeffer Academy partnership exemplifies this notion. Schaeffer Academy is
Delta Electronics (Americas)
a K-12 private school with a 54,823-square foot facility in Rochester, Minn. In 2014, Schaeffer Academy brought on Harris for a small-scale service contract, performing inspections and repairs on their sewage ejector systems as needed. Later, this grew into a more extensive maintenance plan designed by Harris. When the academy’s HVAC equipment was nearing the end of its life, the teams started deep discussions on the next steps and a vision for improvements. Harris’s recommendations included an HVAC preventive maintenance plan with Telemetry®, the replacement of 15 rooftop units and the installation of a building automation system. The maintenance package covered any repairs to keep Schaeffer Academy’s current equipment running until the new equipment was installed. With the addition of Telemetry, Harris consistently monitors the building’s performance and identifies any comfort and efficiency issues. Jon Klug, Building Controls Project Sales Representative for Harris spoke to Telemetry’s ability to red-flag potential system problems. “Probably one of the greatest things that it offers is that, with the rule sets we’ve written, it enables us and the customer to potentially pick up on future issues before they become real. For example, it detects that one of your hot water pumps is running harder than it once did, and things may be getting a little worn out, and maybe we should get one on order, so we have it on the shelf, so to speak. If it fails at 10:00 PM on a Saturday night when it’s 20 below outside, we have a replacement ready to go,” Klug explained Telemetry can co-exist with virtually any brand of building automation system, and is not limited to systems that Harris teams install. “And, depending on the system, it’s not just a cookie cutter, where we slam it in and then we’re talking to it and there might be an additional device that we have to install to get that communication going. If, on our mechanical side or service side, we have customers that don’t have a building automation system installed by Harris, this allows us to support that customer in another way without doing a full automation retrofit,” Klug said.
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