HVAC Engineering Technology

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When Duke University’s East Campus steam plant was built in 1927, it was a major accomplishment of its time. 

The public’s taste for regional and local beer has flourished in recent years, but crafting a proper steam boiler system for its production can be sobering task. Pull up a bar stool and contemplate at least 23 design and maintenance facets to ensure that what’s brewing is all beer and no trouble.

It’s not necessarily a plug-and-play situation, but these chillers can play key roles and deliver meaningful savings in several scenarios. Waste heat, CCHP, standalone, and even renewable solar as part of the refrigeration cycle can all provide the setting for absorption success.

It’s not a new technology, but it’s more popular than ever. While VRF is providing engineers and building owners with a financial payback, the benefits go beyond energy efficiency. 

School, warehouse, office building … the boiler stories they tell put the focus back on specific circumstances and smart pre-design study to ensure their systems (and budgets) enjoy the best of times for as long as possible.

Fallout from “value engineering” spurs an idea about security and performance.

Medical Plaza meets healthy IAQ standards, low operating costs   

When you consider the products introduced to the marketplace in the early 1980s, most of them are no longer in use. 

When the City of Tallahassee and Leon County collaborated on a consolidated public safety complex to deal with local emergencies, the stakes were high and the need for robust yet adaptable HVAC was, too. Another collaboration within the design — chilled beams and pump technology — represented a key component of the mechanical system as it stands ready for severe swings in occupancy and weather alike.

For a building program to be successful and sustainable, it must include an operating budget as well as a construction budget.