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ACHR News – Dealer Design Awards Highlight Best in HVACR July 12th 2010
Keeping control of large commercial systems provides building owners with a monumental daily task. Accomplishing this at optimum efficiency is nearly impossible without the help of multiple controls. The NEWS’ seventh annual Dealer Design Awards’ Commercial Controls Including Building Automation category awarded three manufacturers for their work to help contractors and building owners install and run efficient systems.
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AutomatedBuildings.com – University implements EMS in older buildings July 1st 2010
“A DDC seemed like the only solution if we wanted to tie the older buildings into our EMS and BAS programs,” said Dillery. “But the commitment was too steep both in dollars and in the time and inconvenience of the actual installation. Not only would we have to open walls and ceilings for the rewiring, we would also have to badly disrupt the professional lives of the people in the building. The installation would take months. Plus, we couldn’t do it incrementally one or two floors at a time. Each building would have to be done as a complete project.”
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AutomatedBuildings.com – Kaiser Permanente Qualifies Buildings for Energy Incentives June 1st 2010
Kaiser Permanente is the largest not-for-profit health plan in the nation with hundreds of facilities and operating revenue of more than $40 billion, Energy represents a major part of their operational overhead and they are intensely interested in energy savings.
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ARC Advisory Group – Comprehensive Building Retrofit Solutions Provide Opportunities for Growth in a Challenging Economic Climate May 27th 2010
Lately, there has been a lot of talk surrounding the Smart Grid in the United States. Many people believe the Smart Grid will revolutionize electric energy distribution and help usher in “smart buildings” and eventually “smart cities.” However, estimates suggest that as much as 70 percent of existing buildings in the United States still rely on old pneumatic HVAC systems, and there are approximately 60 million pneumatic thermostats still in use today. In their current state, these buildings will not be able to leverage the advantages of either the Smart Grid or benefits associated with a digital control system. Furthermore, Smart Grid benefits will be severely limited if most buildings cannot communicate with it.
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AutomatedBuildings.com – RCx and Ongoing Commissioning for Legacy HVAC Systems May 10th 2010
The performance of existing buildings are known to degrade over time as buildings go through operational or occupancy changes, and equipment malfunction. A Retro-commissioning process (RCx) helps existing buildings identify and enhance overall efficiency and performance. After Retro-commissioning is done, ongoing commissioning uses continuous monitoring and data analysis to maintain a building in optimal performance, without allowing it to degrade.
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Utility Economics Forum – Emerging Technologies Panel May 7th 2010
E SOURCE
Membership-based energy research and consulting firm in Boulder, Colorado. Presents unbiased research and analysis: Fuel neutral, Product neutral and Vendor neutral. Serving the entire energy market, including service providers and top-tier energy managers.
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FacilitiesNet.com – An EMS Solution for Pneumatic HVAC Systems March 10th 2010
If you manage a facility built before the year 2000, you deserve a great deal of sympathy. And you probably know why. It’s all of those pesky pneumatic thermostats that have to be set manually one-by-one and that the tenants reset to suit their preferences. These antiques keep you from instituting an energy management system that would enable you to cut energy costs and make you eligible for power company incentives.
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Gases & Instrumentation – Cypress Envirosystems – Gold Award Winner of 2010 Golden Gas Awards February 17th 2010
Gases & Instrumentation International Announces the Winners of the 2010 Golden Gas Awards
Wellesley Hills, MA—February 17, 2010—Gases & Instrumentation International, a MetaWord, Inc. premiere publication covering the technology of industrial, specialty and medical gases, announces the winners of the 2010 Golden Gas Awards.
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Gases & Instrumentation, Cover Story – Reducing Costs Using Wireless Sensors for Cylinder Monitoring February 1st 2010
Reducing Costs Using Wireless Sensors for Cylinder Monitoring: A Case Study
The Challenge:
Micrel owns a 150mm fab with a capacity of 30,000 wafer starts per month. The fab was constructed in the 1980s and is considered a legacy fab without the full benefits of current automation technology. The company constantly assesses technology upgrades to reduce cost and improve productivity in order to keep their competitive edge. Managing the use of process gases, which is labor intensive and prone to gas shortages and/or waste, was identified as a key area of potential improvement.
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AutomatedBuildings.com – Retrofitting Existing Commercial Buildings for the Smart Grid December 1st 2009
Recently, there has been a lot of excitement around Smart Grid. The US Department of Energy has announced over $4.5 billion in funding to various projects which promise to make the electrical grid more reliable, and make consumers use electricity more wisely. One under appreciated fact however, is that the Smart Grid needs “smart buildings” to talk with. And unfortunately, most existing buildings are not “smart”.
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