Energy optimization is a top priority for facility managers seeking to educe energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining occupant comfort. Below is a detailed look at six recently introduced products that can help facility managers reach their energy optimization goals.
And click here for criteria that experienced facility managers are using to select energy optimization products.
Building Insights is a cloud-based solution that provides enterprise small buildings real-time visibility and control of all HVAC, lighting, and metering devices from anywhere at any time via a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Building Insights is a powerful multi-platform solution that lets facility managers monitor and manage thousands of sites, simultaneously. It offers the ability to configure devices, add lighting scenes and create schedules, as well as respond to trends, alerts and issues – all from the convenience of a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Building Insights can aggregate thousands of Schneider Electric’s SmartStruxure Lite solution sites and supports both wired and wireless devices for all HVAC, lighting and metering applications, giving the facility manager fully integrated control of energy on-site and remotely. By monitoring activity as it happens, facility managers can immediately optimize usage and avoid costly surprises later. Reports and analytics offer new levels of insight into facility performance with usage trends and reports, such as a monthly report of HVAC temperature and power consumption.
A customized dashboard enables facility managers to choose which buildings and systems populate for real-time information. Real-time alerts indicate exactly when an “event” occurs, indicating systems have reached a predetermined trigger point or experienced an unforeseen issue. Audit logs track which users have accessed the system and what adjustments they’ve made. With global scheduling, facility managers responsible for a few — or a few thousand —locations can easily create schedules for individual, multiple, or all buildings across the enterprise with efficiency and ease.
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Bell & Gossett’s ecocirc XL, a Xylem brand, is a high-efficiency large wet rotor circulator pump with smart communications capabilities that improve operations across a broad range of commercial HVAC and plumbing applications.
The ecocirc XL features an easy-to-use digital interface that provides the user with real-time pump performance information (such as operating or fault modes, flow control and set point) through proactive self-monitoring.
Performance data is mapped into the on-board variable speed drive, so the drive can be designed specifically for each motor size. The ecocirc XL features an electronically commutated permanent magnet (ECM) motor that enables pump operations to match demand, delivering superior energy efficiency and cost savings.
The ecocirc XL has different sets of control modes that are dependent on either differential pressure or temperature. These control modes will vary the pump’s speed to meet the current building’s demand, making the ecocirc XL a jack-of-all-trades. The pump can optimize its performance based on the demand of the building by carefully monitoring the temperature or differential pressure. There is a temperature sensor built into the motor housing and the ecocirc XL can easily estimate the differential pressure by using the mapped hydraulic performance.
The ecocirc XL significantly reduces system downtime and decreases setup and installation time. Additional settings and access to in-depth historical pump data can be obtained through a laptop or an optional Wi-Fi module and standard Wi-Fi enabled tablet or smartphone. Advanced control options, including Modbus or BACnet access, provide dynamic system management.
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The new FTXL Fire Tube Boiler delivers up to 10:1 modulation turndown and up to 98 percent thermal efficiency — higher than any other boiler in its class. Five models range from 399,999 to 850,000 Btu/hr. With the SMART SYSTEM operating control’s built-in cascading sequencer, up to eight fully modulating FTXL units can efficiently operate as a single boiler with total inputs of up to 6.8 million Btu/hr. Cascade sequencing can be programmed for “Lead-Lag” or “Efficiency Optimized” operation by the user.
With the CON-X-US remote connectivity option, status alerts can be sent to a smart device such as a phone or tablet, and the user can monitor and re-program control parameters from almost anywhere.
FTXL can operate over a wide range of flow rates with very low pressure drop. This permits installation of a “full flow” (variable primary) system, eliminating the time and materials cost of additional piping, and pumps needed to maintain flow in a water-tube boiler. Variable flow also makes FTXL more flexible at handling frequent fluctuations in the system flow rate as when a variable speed pump is used.
FTXL boilers have a top-mounted, micrometal fiber burner, with a blower/gas valve assembly that drives heat energy downward, through stainless steel fire tubes, with exhaust venting through the bottom of the unit.
FTXL can be installed with zero clearance on left and right. Installed footprint is 6.2 square feet. FTXL operates with supply gas pressure as low as 4 inches water column.
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Bringing a new level of flexibility and control for commercial HVAC installations, the AC Smart IV central controller from LG Electronics communicates with LG indoor units and controls up to 128 devices, offering advanced features in addition to basic unit control and monitoring. With the ability to adjust LG air conditioners, LG ventilation units, and third-party devices with an I/O kit, the AC Smart IV offers users the convenience of managing all devices with one controller.
Advanced features of the controller include scheduling, auto-changeover, email alarm notification, visual floor plan navigation, and interlocking. Users can schedule 200 programmable events with control of setpoint, on/off, mode, fan speed, controller lock, and louver swing, allowing them to be in full command of their indoor units. In addition, the AC Smart IV controller is outfitted with a 10.2-inch LCD touch-screen display and user-controlled web access, making monitoring simple and convenient. With its advanced unit functions, multi-device management in one place, and the accessibility of the large touch-screen display, LG’s AC Smart IV is ideal for office buildings, schools and other commercial applications.
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Xylem’s Bell & Gossett brand Series e-1510 single stage end-suction centrifugal pumps provide the highest overall efficiency in the end-suction market for commercial HVAC and plumbing applications.
In the redesign of B&G’s best-in-class 1510 pump, engineers employed cutting-edge computational fluid dynamics (CFD) design technology and deep hydraulic engineering expertise to realize a dramatic improvement in efficiency in the Series e-1510 line of pumps.
In addition to higher efficiency levels, engineers have created wider efficiency ranges to sustain higher efficiency levels with reduced impeller diameters. These advanced efficiencies are known as Efficiency Islands. An Efficiency Island is an envelope on the performance curve in which the pump is operating as widely and as deeply as possible within the Hydraulic Institute Standards Preferred Operating Range (between 70 to 120 percent of Best Efficiency Point flow rate). The e-1510 operates efficiently to the left or right of BEP across the broadest range of system operating conditions, helping building owners and manager reduce energy consumption.
Retaining high efficiency levels under different scenarios, such as when the impeller diameter is reduced, produces energy cost savings, and the higher efficiency levels can allow for the use of smaller motors. Noise levels and mechanical loads also decrease as impeller diameter is reduced.
Its stainless steel impellers reduce corrosion or degradation potential from varying water quality to optimize hydraulic performance and lower lifecycle costs.
The e-1510 is suitable for variable speed control, enabling load variations to be achieved with overall improved system efficiency. It is customizablein 26 sizes and a variety of configurations to fit a broad range of operating conditions.
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The Power Manager for SmartStruxure solution enables organizations with non-critical electrical network applications to better monitor, manage, and optimize their buildings from a single, easy-to-use interface. This ensures electrical system health, increases power quality awareness, and improves energy accountability. Energy optimization benefits:
• Fully embedded, cost effective power monitoring solution that can be managed via a single system; reports on energy cost, multi-device usage, usage trends, and load profiles.
• Electrical network health summaries.
• Direct access to power meter data.
• Support of all WAGES utilities.
Power Manager gives access to key information on electrical network health. Acting on that information can lead to preventive maintenance, better tenant billing, positive behavior changes, and adequate information to audit electric utility bills.
Assuming a facility is equipped with sufficient meters of appropriate capabilities, facility managers can use Power Manager to:
1. See present and past energy usage for any point or area within the facility to identify excessive consumption and periodic high demands (e.g., all of Building 1 or Cooling Plant only).
2. Compare present and past consumption data (today over yesterday, week, month, year) to see what has changed, or if conservation measures are having an effect (period over period reporting).
3. Visually scan time-duration-of-consumption data presented graphically to see if there is any demand out of place (unexpected usage on a weekend, for example).
This information can be visualized graphically via easily-configured “dashboards” or reports.
Automation can be used to initiate load-shedding and load-scheduling programs (or call for on-site generation) once demand approaches limits that result in increased billing.
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