Sustainability for the Engineering Center Building
Written By: Siraj Khan, MSME, PE, CEM, LEED AP
Oakland University`s Engineering Center will employ
Trigeneration system, chilled beams, heat pumps, dedicated outside air systems
and a photovoltaic system to cut the annual energy cost budget by approximately
30% to 40% below ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007. Two 200 kW gas-fired micro-turbine
generators provide 40% to 100% of the building's instantaneous power needs and
an estimated 100% of net annual power consumption. Recovered energy from 550 F
turbine generator exhaust provides the majority of the building's heating,
ventilation, and domestic water heating needs, as well as providing
high-temperature heating hot water during spring, summer and fall to operate
existing absorption type water chillers in adjacent buildings.
Trigeneration of power, heating and cooling from one
energy source is complemented by the use of chilled beams, extended season free
cooling, and central heat pumps, which allow the building to replace most of
the typical air-based heating cooling loads with less energy-intensive,
water-based systems. A Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS) feeds chilled beams
and fan-coil units with 100% outside air that is efficiently produced with dual
energy recovery wheels, including a 3 Angstrom total energy wheel recovering
heat and water vapor from the non-hazardous exhaust air stream that is bypassed
when not needed, and a desiccant wheel to lower the supply air dew point to
accommodate all room latent cooling needs. Hazardous exhaust for labs employs a
variable volume exhaust system with redundant, high-induction fans. Low-flow
plumbing fixtures minimize the use of domestic water.
The architecturally-expressed 65-kW photovoltaic
array on the penthouse roof supplements the turbine generator capacity. Other
features include solar shading devices, day lighting, addressable digital
lighting controls, LED fixtures comprising half of all artificial lighting,
electrical sub-metering, a building dashboard for energy reporting, and
electric vehicle charging stations.
The new Engineering Center building will be designed
and constructed with the certifications goal of LEED GOLD.