CASE STUDIES
Learn from others’ experiences
Before you build it’s good to know and learn from the experience of others. Here are a few case studies of happy building owners who wanted to share their hydronic HVAC experiences:
One of the many benefits of a hydronic system is the ability to upgrade individual components of a large system, which often provides substantial energy savings without huge expense or the need to disrupt building occupants. Plumley Village Apartment Homes in Worcester, MA, is a 430-unit, private Section 8 housing complex built in the 1970s. […]
Zero Place and The Future of Geothermal: Award-winning, multifamily, mixed-use building to deliver the data that proves the technology.
Key to the success of the Zero Place project has been an ongoing partnership with NYSERDA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. The public benefit corporation managed to provide $109,000 in efficiency rebates, did a secondary design review and will be performing independent energy monitoring and energy verification once the building is occupied.NYSERDA sees Zero Place as an important test case. They’re hoping lessons learned from the project can influence and educate future policy makers about the kind of return on investment geothermal systems can deliver in the Northeast, where extended, chilly winters are the norm. […]
Story appeared in Contractor magazine, October 2020.
MICRODISTRICTS: A Study for Utility-Scale Approach to Replace Existing Gas Lines with Ground Source Heat Pumps
Following the public release of the GeoMicroDistrict Feasibility Study, Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), a Massachusetts environ-mental non-profit, and its support-ing partners filed an act for utility transition to using renewable energy. Known as the FUTURE Act, the act was developed with legislative leaders to pass laws to improve regulations for gas distribution systems and to accelerate the transition to renewable energy […]
Reprinted with permission from Retrofit magazine (click for a free subscription).
Case Studies from ASHRAE Journal:
HEATING SYSTEM KEY TO HEALTH CENTER EFFICIENCY
Ullivik Heath Centre is dedicated to temporarily accommodating Inuit convalescents who are hospitalized in nearby Montreal and their relatives. The efficient design of the health center, which opened in December 2016, is primarily based on the creation of a low temperature glycol loop for envelope and outdoor air heating and preheating of domestic hot water. […]
Shared Facility Helps Technology Grow
The new Koffman Southern Tier Incubator (KSTI), located in downtown Binghamton, NY, is a three-story, 38,000 gross square foot (32,500 net square foot) facility that provides labs and shared facilities for start-up companies. A hybrid ground source heat pump system is integrated with high performance hydronics for radiant heating and cooling. The purpose of the […]
Water versus refrigerant
Global warming potential (GWP) is the heat absorbed by any greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, as a multiple of the heat that would be absorbed by the same mass of carbon dioxide, which has a GWP of 1.
- WEBINAR: How BEST Design Practices Prove the Superiority of Hydronic Systems – Aaron Stotko, Sr. Manager for the Commercial Segment at Uponor
- Don’t Believe VRF Manufacturers Claims of Superior Energy Efficiency – HIA-C White Paper. NOTE: VRF superior to electric heat, but not hydronic central systems
Problems with distributed refrigerant tubing
When it comes to VRF systems the potential pitfalls are many. Can a proper VRF design under the right circumstance work – of course. Are their better options then VRF – probably. One just needs to ask the right questions about the type of system being specified and how it matches with their design goals.
Many owners, engineers and installers have had negative experiences with VRF systems. Some may be afraid to come forward to admit that their buildings are leaking refrigerant at alarming rates, or that their tenants are paying much more for their heating and cooling then they should be, or that their newly designed and installed system will need to be ripped out just to be upgraded to the new refrigerants.
Here’s a few case studies of those brave enough to step forward to tell about their experiences:
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Explains Why VRF Systems Are Being Restricted – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 3-410-01, Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning Systems, with Change 4 – U.S. Department of Defense
- UFC 3-410-01, Change 4, B-11 VRF Systems – U.S. Department of Defense
- Letter Regarding VRF System Frustrations – Santa Clara University
- Applying Refrigerant Codes – HPAC Engineering
- Why Are VRF Systems Breaking Down at a Faster Rate? – Jensen Hughes
- Gas Engine-Driven Heat Pump (GHP) Cold Climate Field Demonstration – Gas Technology Institute / Department of Defense Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP)
