1. Energy Efficiency on Campus
Balancing Safety & Energy Savings
A Summary of Initiatives
Marc Gomez, Dick Sun, Joe Rizkallah
magomez@uci.edu, dtsun@uci.edu, jar@uci.edu

2. University of California, Irvine
Large research university
$16M annual utilities budget
Lab buildings consume 2/3 of campus energy
Many energy initiatives to reduce carbon footprint

3. Campus Energy $avings Challenge
Recipe for Success
Team Synergy
Engineers
Safety
Management Supportive
Users/
Visionary & Researchers
Supportive
Upper Facility
Management Managers
Patience

4. Agenda
• Lab Building Energy Projects
– Centralized Demand Controlled Ventilation
– Exhaust Stack Velocity
– Low Flow Fume Hoods
• Shuttle Bus Fleet Biodiesel Retrofit
• Real Time Building Commissioning
• Solar Power

5. Centralized Demand
Controlled Ventilation
This Initiative:
Does Centralized Demand Controlled
Ventilation (CDCV) Allow Us to Reduce
Ventilation Rates and Save Energy Without
Compromising Safety?

6. Centralized Demand Controlled Ventilation
Lab Ventilation Rates
• Recommended range 4 to 12 air changes per hour
• Often set at a “constant rate” 24/7
• Usually excessive during low-level process activity
or non-occupancy
• Explore possibility of “set back” based on lab
pollutant concentration

7. Components of
Centralized Demand
Controlled Ventilation (CDCV)
“Creating a Smart Lab”

9. CDCV & Energy $avings
Monitor Air Contaminants
Reduce air changes per hour (ACH)
if no contaminants detected
Increase air changes per hour (ACH)
when contaminants detected

10. CDCV & Energy $avings
Challenge
Balance energy savings & safety
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11. CDCV Effectiveness Study
• Controlled spills ‐ 500 ml of acetone
• 4 ach ventilation rate
• Acetone measurements
with CDCV and handheld
photo‐ionization detector
• CDCV ventilation activation level: 0.5 ppm
• CDCV polling interval time: 14‐17 minutes

12. CDCV Study Results - 1
• System effective at sensing most
chemicals
• Polling time can delay spill detection
• Did see a 6,100 cfm air volume reduction
over the month study
• System payback is 2-5 years

13. CDCV Study Results - 2
• System provides information we don’t
normally have:
– Contaminant concentrations
– Notifies EH&S and Facilities staff
• Additional study needed to further test
system effectiveness

14. Agenda
• Lab Building Energy Projects
– Centralized Demand Controlled Ventilation
– Exhaust Stack Velocity
– Low Flow Fume Hoods
• Shuttle Bus Fleet Biodiesel Retrofit
• Real Time Building Commissioning
• Solar Power

15. Lab Building Exhaust Stack
Discharge Energy Reduction
Study

16. Exhaust Stack Velocity
This Initiative:
Can We Reduce Lab Building
Exhaust Discharge Rates & Achieve
Real Energy Savings Without
Compromising Safety?

17. Lab Exhaust Diagram Animated
Wind
Re-Entrainment
Exhaust Fan Bypass Damper of Contaminated
Air
Plenum
Supply Fan Duct
Balcony
Fume Hood

18. Energy Costs and Savings
Building Actions Savings Payback
Sprague ♦ Do not modify exhaust stack heights 400,000 1.7 years
Hall ♦ Install Variable Frequency Drives (VFD) on each fan kW-
♦ Disable or remove the existing bypass dampers hr/year
♦ Set the minimum exhaust flow per stack to 25,000 $48K/year
cfm (from 55,000 cfm)
Natural ♦ Increase stacks by 4 feet 340,000 3.7 to 5.3
Sciences 1 ♦ Install VFD on fans kW- years
♦ Install wind responsive equipment (consist of two hr/year
anemometers and a logic contoller) $41K/year
♦ Reduce exhaust fan flows
Biological General Laboratory 510,000 1.6 Years
Sciences 3 ♦ Increase stack heights by 5 feet kW-
♦ Reduce flow to 40,000 cfm/stack (from 53,000 cfm) hr/year
$61K/year
BSL 3 Lab 49,000 5.1 years
♦ Increase stack heights to 4 feet kW-
♦ Reduce flow to 19,000 cfm/stack (from 22,000 cfm) hr/year
$6K/year

20. Exhaust Study Results
What we learned:
• Wind tunnel testing, as it is used in design, is
conservative
• Field dispersion studies are not performed on
new or renovated exhaust systems
• Energy savings can be realized
• Didn’t find a “one size fits all” solution

21. Agenda
• Lab Building Energy Projects
– Centralized Demand Controlled Ventilation
– Exhaust Stack Velocity
– Low Flow Fume Hoods
• Shuttle Bus Fleet Biodiesel Retrofit
• Real Time Building Commissioning
• Solar Power

22. UCI Biodiesel
Retrofit Project

23. Project Summary
• UC Irvine student supported shuttle bus
system carries 1.2 million passengers per
year
• Goal was not just a cleaner emissions fleet,
but to make the fleet essentially carbon-
neutral
• Converted campus shuttle bus fleet from
diesel to 100% biodiesel (B100) fuel
• Decrease NOx emissions

24. Biodiesel Study Results
Percent Reduction/Increase
Diesel to B100
Pollutant Type
B100 B100 w/NOx
Control
Smog forming &
NOx +19.5% -28.4%
criteria pollutant
CO Criteria pollutant -48% -98.7%
The other pollutants (PM, HC, SO2, toxic air contaminants – PAHs) were not tested because there is enough published data
available that confirms the other pollutants decrease and/or remain the same when using biodiesel fuels.

25. Conclusion
Overall advantages of using biodiesel includes:
– Reduces dependence on fossil fuels
– Eliminates SO2 because biodiesel does not contain
sulfur.
– Reduces the emission of particulates, small particles of
solid combustion products, by as much as 65 percent
(National Biodiesel Board, 2004)
– Conversion has reduced annual campus CO2 emissions
by approximately 480 tons.1
1Assumes that 100% of fuel consumed is carbon-neutral. Data is based on a national study of effects of
biodiesel usage in buses. Life cycle emissions reductions for CO2 from the use of B100 are 78% and 15.7%
for B20.

26. Agenda
• Lab Building Energy Projects
– Centralized Demand Controlled Ventilation
– Exhaust Stack Velocity
– Low Flow High Efficiency Fume Hoods
• Shuttle Bus Fleet Biodiesel Retrofit
• Real Time Building Commissioning
• Solar Power

27. Low Flow / High Efficiency
Fume Hoods
• Cal/OSHA requirement of 100 FPM
capture velocity
• Other 49 States do not have this
requirement and can use low flow fume
hoods
• UCI is working with Cal/ OSHA to
complete a study showing that low flow
fume hoods provide equivalent protection
as traditional hoods at 100 FPM

28. EH&S Partnerships for success!
• UC - Irvine EH&S Department
• The Henry Samueli School of Engineering
• Cal / OSHA
• Tom Smith & James Fraley, Consultants
• Fisher Hamilton – Fume Hood Donation
• Labconco – Fume Hood Donation
• Lab Crafters – Fume Hood Donation
• Kewaunee – Fume Hood Donation

29. Low Flow Fume Hood Study
Methodology & Results
• ASHRAE 110 Containment Test
• Human As Mannequin (HAM)
• Real world conditions
– Loaded hood
– Cross drafts
– Walk‐bys

31. Highest Average Concentration for Tracer Gas Tests:
Maximum 5-minute average tracer gas concentrations per condition

32. Low Fume Hood Study
Conclusion
• Study showed that low flow fume hoods
operating at 70 -80 FPM do provide
equivalent protection to conventional
hoods at an 18 inch sash height

33. Agenda
• Lab Building Energy Projects
– Centralized Demand Controlled Ventilation
– Exhaust Stack Velocity
– Low Flow Fume Hoods
• Shuttle Bus Fleet Biodiesel Retrofit
• Real Time Building Commissioning
• Solar Power

34. Real Time Building
Commissioning
Building Sqft Cost
Engineering Unit 3 122,470 $50,404,000
Social & Behavioral Sciences Building 116,143 $40,743,180
Humanities Building 74,919 $28,997,000
Medical Education Building 66,906 $30,018,007
Steinhaus Hall Exterior Renovation 112,857 $4,620,000
Arts Building 59,492 $33,764,007
UCI MC Clinical Laboratory Replacement Building 48,000 $32,813,000
New University Hospital Shell Space Completion/Site 63,695 $96,625,000
Improvements
Stem Cell Research Center Building 100,635 $46,257,931
Law School Library 21,800 $1,974,845

35. Real Time Building
Commissioning
• Energy savings can be significant when
systems are operating at peak.
• Design and Construction Services,
Facilities Management, and EH&S are
consistently challenged with systems
performance once the user moves in.
• Post occupancy survey.

36. Real Time Building
Commissioning
Working toward making this program
happen on campus
– Developed a Lab Design guide to survey the
renovation and building of lab space
• Given to contractors in the “SCHEMATIC DESIGN”
phase of a project
– Established buy-in from D&CS and FM on
approach

37. Real Time Building
Commissioning
Follow up Systems
– Team of EH&S, D&CS & FM personnel with
the appropriate knowledge
– Create a timeline after move in
– Create an agreement between EH&S, FM and
D&CS as to who fixes/pays for issues

38. Real Time Building
Commissioning
• Study Croul Hall, Cal IT2, and other new
buildings that have issues after move in
• Create a report that outlines the potential
energy savings and maintenance issues

39. Agenda
• Lab Building Energy Projects
– Centralized Demand Controlled Ventilation
– Exhaust Stack Velocity
– Low Flow Fume Hoods
• Shuttle Bus Fleet Biodiesel Retrofit
• Real Time Building Commissioning
• Solar Power

40. Solar Power
• UCI has partnered with So-Cal Edison to install
solar panels on our south facing buildings
• Presently over 9 buildings generating over 900
KW DC, currently more being installed!
• No cost to the university
• University to take ownership after 5 years

42. EH&S Workload Challenge
This energy efficiency movement
has increased our calls and our
involvement with building practices
related to energy efficiency and
customer service in a challenging
budget year

43. EH&S Workload Challenge
• Indoor Air Quality calls – Odors
• Indoor Air Quality calls ‐ Temperature
• Water Temperature calls
• Group presentations on building changes
• Solar power array calls on health effects
• Shrinking staff to handle the above

44. Energy Efficiency on Campus
Balancing Safety & Energy Savings
A Summary of Initiatives
Questions?
Marc Gomez, Dick Sun, Joe Rizkallah
magomez@uci.edu, dtsun@uci.edu, jar@uci.edu