BUILDING PERFORMANCE MONITORING FOR HOSPITALS
OVERVIEW
Building Performance Monitoring (BPM) is the ongoing process of remotely analyzing large amounts of real-time data using cloud-based Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics (AFDD) software to optimize building systems by identifying and providing actionable solutions to operational issues related to excessive energy consumption, occupant discomfort, and faulty equipment operations. When AFDD software is coupled with SSR’s knowledge of the building’s systems, BPM prevents performance degradation, helping the facility meet or exceed its original design intent.
The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) Section 403.2.3 requires new buildings larger than 100,000 ft2 to utilize an AFDD system to automatically identify HVAC equipment faults and provide prioritized recommendations for repair.
LEED v4
BD+C offers 1 additional point under the Enhanced Commissioning credit for Monitoring-Based Cx, which is another term for BPM.
A meta-analysis conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) concluded mean building energy savings of 9% and a mean simple payback of 3.2 years for AFDD.
PROJECT EXPERIENCE
TEXAS CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL WEST HOUSTON, TX ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL NORTH LUTZ, FL HOUSTON METHODIST THE WOODLANDS HOSPITAL THE WOODLANDS, TX
ANALYTICS DIAGNOSTICS DATA AFDD CLOUD PLATFORM Energy Use Time Business as usual (no savings, rising costs) Savings from conventional, periodic Retro-Cx or energy audits Added MBCx savings from persistence Added MBCx savings from continuously identified new measures
0 500000 1000000 1500000 2000000 2500000 3000000 Jan-15 Jun-15 Nov-15 Apr-16 Sep-16 Feb-17 Jul-17 Dec-17 May-18 Oct-18 Mar-19 Aug-19 Jan-20 Jun-20 Nov-20 Apr-21 Sep-21 Feb-22 Jul-22 Dec-22 May-23 Oct-23 Mar-24 Cumulative Savings ($) TN Regional Hospital Cumulative Savings: $2,767,971 Electricity Natural Gas YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4 YEAR 5 YEAR 6 YEAR 7 YEAR 8 YEAR 9 YEAR 10
BUILDING PERFORMANCE MONITORING FOR HOSPITALS
BPM / AFDD EXAMPLES
Chiller cycling is a critical issue that causes large inrush current, increased energy consumption and demand, as well as increased equipment wear and tear. In this case, the lag chiller was cycling on and off over periods as short as 30 minutes, which is unexpectedly short. Through BPM, this issue was resolved, mitigating elevated equipment wear and reducing energy consumption.
AHU Supply Air Temperature Reset saves significant energy in healthcare applications where high air change rate requirements otherwise result in high terminal unit reheating loads. In this example, BPM was used to identify “rouge” zones which were preventing the AHU supply air temperature setpoint from resetting.
Chilled water pump differential pressure (DP) setpoint controls the speed of the pumps. This is an example of the pumps running at 75% speed while the measured DP is higher than the setpoint, indicating an error with the pump operation. Through BPM, this issue was resolved, reducing chiller and pumping energy consumption, and reducing equipment runtime.
Ultimately, the goal of Building Performance Monitoring is to assist Owners in quickly identifying and troubleshooting potential operational issues with their building systems, thus saving energy and GHG emissions, reducing operational cost, improving occupant comfort, and extending equipment life.
