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·
From an Abandoned Railroad Yard to an Economic Beacon ·
Dolphin System Installation
PNC Firstside Banking and Data Processing Center along the
Monogahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Located
on a 4.5-acre brownfields site formerly used as a Baltimore & Ohio railway
terminal,
PNC Firstside is the largest commercial building (650,000 square feet) in the U.S. to be awarded a LEED Silver Certification, with LEED standing for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” The indoor-air quality of the structure is enhanced with four 12-inch Dolphin units (along with 2-inch make-up units) installed on the facility’s four cooling towers. A one-story waterfall marks the start of a granite fountain that cascades down the First Avenue side of the building. Several, smaller Dolphin units installed to treat the fountain water have demonstrated a powerful, clarifying effect on the water, as well as greatly reducing the ability of microbial life to thrive in the fountain.
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Cooling Tower Parameters (Installation Shown in Bottom Left Photo) |
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Total Bacteria Count: ~2,500-3,000 CFU/ml |
Cycles of Concentration: 4 |
Odor: None |
Algae: None |
Scale: None |
pH: 7.4-8.4 |
Energy Efficiency: no
loss of heat transfer. |
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Fountain Parameters (Installation Shown in Upper Right Photo) |
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Total Bacteria Count: ~2,400-6,000 CFU/ml |
Exceptional Water Clarity |
No Odor |
No white scale |
No biofilm |
No foaming |
No algae |
top ^
Raising the Bar in Energy Efficiency & Environmental Stewardship
Water evaporation is the most energy-efficient method of
cooling. The technique is used in most
moderate and large cooling systems to remove heat from buildings. However,
using water for cooling under traditional practices requires the use of multiple
chemicals that often work at cross-purposes, potentially causing energy
inefficiencies. The U.S. Department of
Energy, in a solicitation titled Energy Efficient Building Equipment and
Envelope, states “…even the most energy-efficient equipment suffers from
significant losses in the field from installation deficiencies, operational
effects, and long-term degradation.”
· Improving
Energy Efficiency. The actual efficiency of new technology centrifugal
chillers is 25% poorer that their maximum efficiency. Much of this degradation is from waterside fouling on heat
exchange surfaces and degradation in evaporative capacity on cooling towers
because of fill fouling. While scale is
a visible and detrimental effect of less than perfect water treatment, biofilm
is actually a more serious issue.
Biofilm has nearly five times the insulating capacity of scale and can
rapidly degrade system performance. The
application of pulsed power technology with the Dolphin SystemTM
provides excellent control over a wide range of circumstances that both
simplifies water treatment and allows continuous high efficiency
operation. Since 23% of the entire
power grid demand is used to operate cooling or refrigerant systems, improvement
in the actual operating efficiencies of these technologies is vitally
important.
· Environmental
Health & Safety. Energy efficiency is not the only advantage of the
Dolphin System. The chemicals used in
water treatment are often registered pesticides and OSHA hazardous
chemicals. Disposal of residue
chemicals, discharges of blowdown (regulated), uncontrolled losses through
drift and leaks (unregulated), and air emissions (almost always unregulated)
are continuing issues with water treatment chemicals. All of these issues are
eliminated with the Dolphin’s pulsed power technology.
· Energy
& Environmental Synergy. In an article, “Battling Biofilms,” published
in the July 2001 issue of Scientific American, the authors state:
“Pentagon planners concern themselves a great deal nowadays with information
warfare. Why? Because interfering with a foe’s ability to communicate can be
far more effective than destroying its bunkers or factories. In the battle
against harmful bacteria, some investigators are considering the same
strategy.” On cooling towers, our
pulsed power technology appears to be consistent with the intent of this
strategy, achieving dramatically low Total Bacteria Counts (TBCs) and
across-the-board energy savings.
An Economic Analysis with the Dolphin System
On one project where the Dolphin chemical-free water
treatment system was eventually installed on all of the facility’s
cooling towers and boilers, the buyer (a senior project engineer) stated that a
“financial analysis calculated a payback of less than one year for the first
unit.” His company wanted to minimize or eliminate the use of chemicals in its
cooling towers to reduce/eliminate chemical costs, improve system reliability,
prevent employee exposure to harsh chemicals, reduce potential liabilities, and
preclude exposure to regulatory action.
These goals had to be further substantiated by being economically
favorable. How does one go about demonstrating the cost effectiveness of the Dolphin
System versus chemical treatment?
There are a number of ways to conduct an economic analysis
in this regard. While some analyses
differ from others, virtually all of them share common categories. One concerns the cost of chemicals,
including water softeners. Another
pertains to maintenance costs—such as those associated with pumps and other
chemical dosing equipment that occasionally break down and need to be
repaired. A third category addresses
water savings, typically based on increased cycles of concentration under the
Dolphin System. A fourth category is
energy, that is, the consumption rate to operate chillers, pumps, fans,
etc. There are also various
“intangibles” frequently brought into the analysis; common intangibles include
regulatory compliance and health and safety costs.
Richard Escue, a sales engineer representative with
Flowmatics, Inc., gathers specific data from each prospective client and
prepares a calculation sheet to demonstrate the payback effectiveness of the
Dolphin System. A “sample result” of his cost analysis is shown in the
following tables.
Cost Analysis
Sample for Cooling Towers
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Costs per Year |
Chemical |
Dolphin |
Difference |
|
Water* |
$7,413.76 |
$7,095.60 |
$316.16 |
|
Sewer/Disposal |
575.99 |
0.00 |
575.99 |
|
Additional Electrical for Injection |
157.68 |
1,206.25 |
-1,048.57 |
|
Maintenance (Assuming testing with Dolphin) |
500.00 |
480.00 |
20.00 |
|
Chemicals |
1,500.00 |
0.00 |
$1,500.00 |
|
Energy Savings** |
0.00 |
-$5,913.00 |
$5,913.00 |
|
TOTAL |
$10,147.43 |
$2,868.86 |
$7,278.58 |
|
Additional Savings (Intangibles) |
-------------- |
|
|
|
Yearly Savings with Dolphin System |
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$7,278.58 |
|
|
Cost of Added Equipment |
$14,700.00 |
|
Cost of Installation |
5,000.00 |
|
Total Investment |
$19,700.00 |
|
Payback |
2.71 years |
* Many localities will allow blowdown to storm drains or
groundwater because no chemicals are added to the water under Dolphin
treatment.
**Energy savings are based on a minimum of 5% increase in
chiller efficiency due to total elimination of biofilm.
A NOTE AND AN
OFFERING
Please note that the results of this sample analysis are
for informational purposes only.
Actual results vary with each application. Many of the numbers are approximations derived by customer-supplied
information and by industry standards rules of thumb. If you would like to conduct a cost analysis for your
particular cooling tower or steam boiler situation, contact one of the
following individuals to fill in our information form. We will then provide
you with a payback analysis report. Jerry Ackerman Richard Escue Marketing Director Sales Engineer Clearwater Systems LLC Flowmatics, Inc. 145 Dennison Road · P.O. Box 463 2342
West Vancouver Essex, CT 06426 Broken Arrow,
OK 74012 Tel: 860-767-0850 Tel: 918-259-3740 Fax: 860-767-8972 Fax: 918-259-3741 jja@clearwater-dolphin.com richard@flowmaticsinc.com |
top ^
Serving a Complex Industry
If you ask the average person on the street his or her
thoughts about the sophistication of heating and cooling equipment, the
response might be that such equipment is based on old, established technology
with nothing fancy about it. “A steam
boiler is just a big tea kettle, and cooling systems are just big
refrigerators.” If this statement were
true, servicing and monitoring heating and cooling equipment would be a minor
matter with little importance placed on it.
We at Clearwater develop, manufacture, and market a product
with no moving parts and no consumable supplies—in essence, a product that
needs little or no attention to operate properly. So you might think we do not spend much time thinking about
“service” issues.
On the contrary, the servicing of mechanical systems is our
most urgent concern. The cooling
tower/chiller systems and steam boilers that our products enhance are extremely
complex and sensitive systems that require reliable periodic monitoring and service. They are dynamic systems that need balance,
and they can easily go out of balance—due to many operational parameters and
variables—at a moment’s notice. Without
appropriate service and monitoring of water chemistry, blowdown, solids
separation, and instrumentation calibration, the complex systems can perform
poorly, shorten their useful lives, and give their owners maintenance
nightmares. Periods of stand-down,
lay-up, or lag-status, where there is stagnant water in parts of the
systems, are times of particular concern for service and monitoring.
Business and industry take various approaches to providing
these essential services, ranging from a fully staffed professional mechanical
departments to complete neglect.
Someone must perform these essential services, and if the operating
organization is not staffed to do so, or if performing these functions is a big
distraction to the business at hand, we urge organizations to obtain outside
services.
We at Clearwater offer a “Service Contract” when our products
are used. Later this fall we will be
unveiling a more comprehensive “Service Plan” package for those customers who
want and need such assistance on the systems to which our product is applied. But whoever does the service, please don’t
neglect these complex and sensitive systems! If you do, you’re simply asking
for trouble.
top ^
The Utah 2001 Industry
Showcase
The Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial
Technologies, in conjunction with the State of Utah, presented its fourth
industrial showcase in Salt Lake City on August 27-29, 2001. This Utah 2001 Industry Showcase was the
first to highlight multiple industries.
By showcasing four industries instead of just one, Utah 2001 actively
fostered a partnership and exchange of ideas to improve energy efficiency. The four industries were aluminum
manufacturing, petroleum refining, metal casting, and mining. The theme of the
event was to support, promote, and highlight the use of advanced technologies
among these industries throughout the nation.
Aluminum Metal Casting Mining Petroleum
Highlights of the Utah 2001 Industry Showcase included tours
of local industrial facilities: Alcoa, Kennecott Copper, MagCorp, and three
refineries. At each of these tours,
advanced technologies and practices in use by these organizations were
presented and discussed.
The most sought-after tour was the one of Alcoa’s Spanish
Fork Operations. This plant is a
casting and extrusion facility and part of Alcoa’s North American Extrusion
operations. The tour highlighted many
best practices that Alcoa is using in the U.S., with perhaps the most
revolutionary one being Alcoa’s use and commitment to non-chemical water
treatment in their cooling towers. The
company understands that this practice is yielding them energy savings,
reduction in waste, increase safety for its workforce, and lower costs. Alcoa strives to be “the best company in the
world,” and Clearwater is proud to play a small part in helping Alcoa reach
that goal.
The conference had the usual assortment of dignitaries both
from a state and national level. From
the Governor’s keynote address to the panel discussion by three U.S.
Representatives, the theme of a strategic partnership between industry and
government was emphasized. After three
days the conference ended, allowing time for Salt Lake City to prepare for its
next major event—the 2002 Winter Olympics.
A Look at
LEED and How It Works
Although the LEED Green Building Rating SystemTM
has only been in official use since May of 2000, it has already served as a
framework for hundreds of projects (such as the PNC Firstside Center, as
mentioned in the feature article). The
rating system is a method to provide standardization and independent oversight
to claims of environmental performance for nonresidential buildings. Its checklist of green performance goals and
measures has a maximum of 69 points. A
building that can document compliance with 26 or more points can be
LEED-certified, as shown in the following table.
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LEED GREEN BUILDING RATING SYSTEM |
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Certification
Level
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Corresponding
Point Range
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LEED Certified |
26-32 |
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LEED Certified Silver |
33-38 |
|
LEED Certified Gold |
39-51 |
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LEED Certified Platinum |
52+ |
· Understanding
the Basics. The first step in
certifying a building under LEED is to register the project with the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The registration fee allows you access to
online reference materials and some guidance or consultation support. Once the project is completed, the building
owner or designer submits a checklist showing which credits are being claimed,
along with the appropriate documentation and fee. If the certification committee approves the project, the
applicant receives a certificate, plaque, media kit, and the promise of
exposure on the Council web site and in the trade press.
· Obtaining
the Credits. The core of the LEED
rating system is a checklist of credits that determine available points for
various green measures. The entire
checklist is freely available as the LEED Green Building Rating SystemTM
on the USGBC web site. This downloadable, 25-page document lists every possible
credit, describing the intent, requirements, and some sample technologies or
strategies for meeting the requirements.
The following paragraphs and tables summarize the credit-and-point
system.
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LEED Prerequisites,
Available Credits, & Possible Points by CategorY/Section |
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Category/Section |
Prerequisites |
Credits
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Possible Points |
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Sustainable Sites |
1 |
8 |
14 |
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Water Efficiency |
0 |
3 |
5 |
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Energy & Atmosphere |
3 |
6 |
17 |
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Materials & Resources |
1 |
7 |
13 |
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Indoor Environmental Quality |
2 |
8 |
15 |
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Innovation & Design Process |
0 |
2 |
5 |
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TOTAL |
7 |
34 |
69 |
· Section
1: Sustainable Sites. The only
prerequisite in this category is that an erosion and sediment control plan be
followed that adheres to local standards or EPA management practices (favoring
the most stringent option) for stormwater control.
SUSTAINABLE SITES CREDITS & POINTS
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Credit 1: Site Selection. One
point for avoiding development of inappropriate sites (i.e., farmland, flood
zones, wetlands). |
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Credit 2: Urban Redevelopment. One
point for development in a high-density or urban location versus a rural or
“greenfield” site. |
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Credit 3: Brownfields Redevelopment. One
point for cleaning up and redeveloping a site with real or perceived
environmental issues. |
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Credit 4: Alternative Transportation. Up to
four points for measures that reduce dependence on private automobiles to
arrive at or depart from a site. |
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Credit 5: Reduced Site Disturbance. One or
two credits for measures that conserve existing natural areas and restore
damaged ones. |
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Credit 6: Stormwater Management. One or
two credits for implementing a responsible stormwater management plan. |
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Credit 7: Landscape & Exterior Design to Reduce Heat
Islands. One or two points for measures reducing the localized
warming referred to as the “urban heat Island” effect. |
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Credit 8: Light Pollution Reduction. One
credit for keeping outdoor lighting levels low. |
· Section
2: Water Efficiency. Relative to
its global significance as a resource, water has relatively little significance
in the LEED rating system. The water credits apply to landscaping, wastewater,
and indoor water use. All three credits
are based on use reductions from a certain baseline level.
WATER EFFICIENCY CREDITS & POINTS
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Credit 1: Water-Efficient Landscaping. One
point for a 50% reduction from the baseline in potable water use, and a
second point for an additional 50% reduction, meaning no potable water use. |
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Credit 2: Innovative Wastewater Technologies. One
point for either reducing sewage flow by 50% from the baseline or treating
all wastewater on site to tertiary standards. |
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Credit 3: Water Use Reduction.
Including sanitary fixtures and cooling towers, one point is achieved with a
20% reduction from the baseline, with a second point for an additional 10%
reduction. |
· Section
3: Energy & Atmosphere. LEED
places a major emphasis on energy. Of the 17 possible points in this section,
15 relate to energy efficiency or renewable energy. There are several prerequisites associated with this section.
One, fundamental building systems commissioning requires that a commissioning
authority be identified and contracted to perform certain tasks. Two, minimum
energy performance requires a level of energy efficiency as described in Standard
90.1-1999 from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Three, CFC reduction in HVAC&R equipment
bans the use of CFC-based systems in new buildings and requires a phase-out
plan in existing buildings.
ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE CREDITS & POINTS
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Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance. From
two to 10 points, depending on the energy savings from the ASRAE 90.1
baseline. |
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Credit 2: Renewable Energy. One to
three points for the use of renewable energy generated on site to meet 5% to
20% of the building’s energy needs. |
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Credit 3: Additional Commissioning. One
point for an expanded commissioning role beyond that described in the first
prerequisite. |
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Credit 4: Elimination of HCFCs and Halons. One
point if HVAC and fire-suppression equipment do not use HCFCs or Halons. |
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Credit 5: Measurement and Verification. One
point for the installation of equipment for continuous metering of energy and
water use. |
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Credit 6: Green Power. One point if the
facility enters into a two-year contract to purchase power from an
independently certified green electricity provider. |
· Section
4: Materials and Resources. The one prerequisite associated with this
section is that the building accommodate the recycling of solid waste by
occupants.
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES CREDITS & POINTS
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Credit 1: Building Reuse. Up to three points for
reuse of an existing building. |
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Credit 2: Construction & Waste Management. One
point for recycling at least 50% (by weight) of construction, demolition, and
land-clearing waste. A second point can be achieved by recycling another 25%. |
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Credit 3: Resource Reuse. One point for using
salvaged or refurbished materials for at least 5% of the materials on the
project, and two points for 10%. |
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Credit 4: Recycled Content. One
point for using at least 25% of building materials with recycled content, and
a second point for using at least 50%. |
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Credit 5: Local/Regional Materials. Up to
two points for using materials sourced and manufactured with a 500-mile
radius of the building site. |
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Credit 6: Rapidly Renewable Materials. One
point for using at least 5% of materials that are made from resources such as
agricultural products or bamboo. |
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Credit 7: Certified Wood. One point when at least
50% of all wood-based materials are certified to Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC) guidelines. |
· Section
5: Indoor Environmental Quality. There are two prerequisites associated
with this section. One is that minimum Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) performance
requires compliance with ASHRAE Standard 62-1999 on ventilation for IAQ. The
second prerequisite is that Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) bans exposure of
occupants to ETS.
INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY CREDITS & POINTS
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Credit 1: Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Monitoring. One
point for installation a permanent CO2 monitoring system and
setting it to control specific CO2 levels. |
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Credit 2: Ventilation Effectiveness. One
point for air distribution systems that promote effective air exchange. |
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Credit 3: Construction IAQ Management. One
point for conformance to a range of measures designed to prevent indoor
contamination that results from construction activities. |
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