Spectrum Engineers made a decision to certify its offices under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors rating system
April 6, 2010 - Energy Efficiency
With locations in Salt Lake City and Phoenix, multi-disciplinary Spectrum Engineers specializes in client-centered, integrated facility engineering services, including designing for sustainability.
To demonstrate its high-tech, cutting-edge capability, the company made a decision to certify Spectrum Engineers’ offices under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) rating system.
As part of the process for achieving a platinum rating – the highest LEED rating – the company integrated a network of eight E-Mon D-Mon Class 3000 electric sub-meters into building-automation systems (BAS) at both Spectrum locations. The sub-meters provide real-time snapshots of delivered energy, real power, apparent power, power factor, current load, and line-to-line voltage.
In the Salt Lake City office alone, the sub-meters monitor 27,379 square feet of space. During the design phase, Sim Gurewitz, E-Mon’s regional manager, worked closely with Spectrum to ensure the seamless integration of the sub-meters with the facility’s BACnet BAS.
Communicating the raw energy data via Ethernet to the BAS, the energy data is used for in-lobby display in both offices, as well as for energy analysis by Spectrum Engineers.
Spectrum’s David Affleck is pleased with the sub-meters’ performance-monitoring capability.
“Two selling points of the sub-meters were BACnet capability, which allows us to interface with our existing BAS, and the easy installation of the meters themselves,” Affleck says. “The system’s been running for more than eight months now, providing an attractive display of 36 building automation system parameters on a large flat-screen monitor in Spectrum Engineers’ front lobby.”
Monitored system parameters include heating, lighting, air handling, domestic hot water, back-up power, and plug load.
“Through this interactive medium, everyone at Spectrum Engineers has a stake in monitoring facility performance and becoming an equal partner in the energy conservation process,” Affleck says.
