Consulting and Specifying Engineers Mar 2016

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T H E
G L O B A L
L E A D E R
I N
P L U M B I N G ,
H E A T I N G
A N D
input #1 at www.csemag.com/information
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Helping you
solve safety.
For Life.
Complex projects such as healthcare and manufacturing facilities require complex

fire, life-safety and communications solutions. By staying up to date with new
technology, you can design systems that better protect critical assets, simplify
code compliance and maximize efficiency.
We created the Architect & Engineer Resource Center to provide you with the latest
fire and life-safety technology and ideas. Youll find an interactive solutions map,
white papers, technical manuals, tools, videos and more. Its part of the service
and support Tyco SimplexGrinnell provides to architects and engineers.
Discover new fire and life-safety technology and solutions at the

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MARCH 2016
COVER STORY
30 | How to design safe, reliable
fire pump power service
The codes that govern the power supply to the fire pump,
as well as conversations with the local authority having
jurisdiction, determine the best solution for a buildings
fire pump power system design.
SARAH KUCHERA, PE, LEED AP
FEATURES
ON THE COVER: At the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children

in Birmingham, Ala., the power feed to the fire pump was
carefully designed to provide maximum reliability for this
critical facility. The primary feed came via a protected feeder
from the medium-voltage service and the emergency power
feed was provided from the campus medium-voltage emergency power distribution system. Courtesy: WSP + ccrd
07 | Viewpoint
24 | Codes & Standards
To be, or not to be: more

STEM education funding
Water management in
commercial buildings
thinking differently
09 | Research
2016 Fire & Life Safety
Study
Understanding the basic characteristics of emergency

egress and illumination systems provides engineers with
the knowledge to optimize lifecycle and emergency
evacuation performance.
MARK BUDZINSKI, PE, AIA, CBO
45 | Digital Edition
Exclusive
11 | Career Smart
Commissioning and the

technology evolution
Finding passion
in your work
47 | Advertiser Index
12 | MEP Roundtable
48 | Future of
Engineering
Enhancing the learning

experience in K-12
schools
36 | Emergency egress and

illumination systems
Five tips for hiring the

right talent
ENGINEERING DISCIPLINES
Use the icons to identify topics of interest.
AUTOMATION & CONTROLS
HVAC
COMMUNICATIONS
LIGHTING
ELECTRICAL
PLUMBING
FIRE, SECURITY & LIFE SAFETY
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Amara Rozgus,
Editor-in-Chief
ELISA GEISHEIMER, Production Coordinator

630-571-4070 x2213, EGeisheimer@CFEMedia.com
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

ANIL AHUJA, PE, LEED AP, RCDD,
President, CCJM Engineers, Chicago
PETER ALSPACH, PE, LEED AP BD+C,
Principal, Mechanical Engineer, Arup, Seattle
JERRY BAUERS, PE,
National Program Executive,
Outcome Construction Services LLC, Kansas City, Mo.
MICHAEL CHOW, PE, LEED AP BD+C,
Principal, Metro CD Engineering LLC, Columbus, Ohio
TOM DIVINE, PE,
Senior Electrical Engineer,
Smith Seckman Reid Inc., Houston
ROBERT J. GARRA JR., PE, CDT,
Vice President, Electrical Engineer,
CannonDesign, Grand Island, N.Y.
JASON GERKE, PE, LEED AP BD+C, C X A,
Mechanical Engineer, GRAEF, Milwaukee
JOSHUA D. GREENE, PE,
Vice President, Jensen Hughes, Framingham, Mass.
RAYMOND GRILL, PE, FSFPE,
Principal, Arup, Washington, D.C.
DANNA JENSEN, PE, LEED AP BD+C,
Vice President, ccrd, a WSP Co., Dallas
WILLIAM KOFFEL, PE, FSFPE,
President, Koffel Associates Inc., Columbia, Md.
WILLIAM KOSIK, PE, CEM, LEED AP BD+C, BEMP,
Independent Consultant, Oak Park, Ill.
KENNETH KUTSMEDA, PE, LEED AP,
Engineering Design Principal, Jacobs, Philadelphia
KEITH LANE, PE, RCDD, LC, LEED AP,
President, Lane Coburn & Associates, Seattle
JULIANNE LAUE, PE, LEED AP BD+C, BEMP,
Senior MEP Engineer, Center for Sustainable Energy,
Mortenson Construction, Minneapolis
KENNETH L. LOVORN, PE,
President, Lovorn Engineering Associates, Pittsburgh
DAVID LOWREY,
Chief Fire Marshal, Boulder (Colo.) Fire Rescue
MICHAEL MAR, PE, LEED AP,
Vice President, Environmental Systems Design Inc., Chicago
BRIAN MARTIN, PE,
Electrical Engineer, CH2M, Portland, Ore.
DWAYNE G. MILLER, PE, RCDD, AEE CPQ,
Chief Executive Officer, JBA Consulting Engineers, Las Vegas
RODNEY V. OATHOUT, PE, CEM, LEED AP,
Principal, Regional Engineering Leader,
DLR Group, Overland Park, Kan.
SYED PEERAN, PE, Ph.D.,
Senior Engineer, CDM Smith Inc., Boston
GREGORY QUINN, PE, NCEES, LEED AP,
Principal, Health Care Market Leader,
Affiliated Engineers Inc., Madison, Wis.
BRIAN A. RENER, PE, LEED AP,
Associate, SmithGroupJJR, Chicago
RANDY SCHRECENGOST, PE, CEM,
Austin Operations Group Manager and
Senior Mechanical Engineer,
Stanley Consultants, Austin, Texas
To be, or not to be:

more STEM education funding
hen I started my college

career, I knew immediately that I wanted to study
something in the biological sciences. I
was well-prepared to launch my college
career as a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) student.
After a year of college coursework,
I worked any chance I could at a local
veterinary clinic. My goal, after all, was
to be a veterinarian, so I wanted to see
what it was all about. After more than
2 years of work at this clinic, I realized
that I didnt really want to become a vet.
I was still interested in science, and at
the same time interested in communications, so what could I do?
My counselor wasnt much help
what else could a 20-year veteran of
reproductive physiology tell me? He
had no idea how I could marry my love
of science with an interest in communications. The deans assistant was my
saving graceshe suggested I also apply
to the College of Communications
(I was at a huge land grant university, so
everything was split up by core areas).
Her help in navigating the challenges of
straddling two colleges and two degrees
allowed me to obtain exactly what I
wanted and needed: a degree in animal
sciences and a degree in journalism.
Fast-forward to today. I just read
an article in the New York Times that
highlights an idea being floated about
students not receiving state funding unless theyre obtaining a STEM

degree or something deemed useful
to todays economy. While Im still not
sure why my brother chose to study the
classical languages (Latin and Greek)
or what hed ever do with them (hes a
paralegal today), I never would have
discouraged him from trying to obtain
a college degree just because it wasnt
useful to Americas economic growth.
Not all degrees in college are vocational
in nature. Some are just interesting, and
make us more well-rounded (Im looking at you, game designers, morticians,
and other unusual high-paying jobs).
Job training should definitely be
aligned with the job market, no question. Statistics abound about which
job markets are growing (health care,
anyone?). But even with all of these data
points, how do we know that natural
resources experts wont be a necessity
in 20 years? Or that people with communications degrees wont be in high
demand at high-tech firms?
Funding will follow the job market;
there isnt a doubt about that. However, I recommend that state educators
not stray so far away from the basics
(reading, writing, and arithmetic)
that we wind up with a horribly lopsided workforce. We need more doctors, electrical engineers, and genetic
researchers. But at what cost?
GERALD VERSLUYS, PE, LEED AP,

Health Care Operations Manager,
TLC Engineering for Architecture, Brentwood, Tenn.
MIKE WALTERS, PE, LEED AP,
Principal, Fovea LLC, Madison, Wis.
JOHN YOON, PE, LEED AP ID+C,
Lead Electrical Engineer, McGuire Engineers Inc., Chicago
www.csemag.com
PRESENTED BY:
NOMINATION
DEADLINE:
To participate in the
2016 MEP Giants,
submit your firms
information by
Friday, April 1, 2016.
Honoring Engineering Leadership

Submit your firms data to be considered for the Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016
MEP Giants program and be among the top mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), and fire
protection engineering firms in North America.
Your firms information will be included in the printed and online MEP Giants report, featured
in the Consulting-Specifying Engineer August 2016 issue.
The in-depth analysis of these winning firms appears in August and reveals whats going on in
the industry, including a look at trends over the past several years. Special emphasis will be
placed on commissioning in a separate report in October.
Nominations for the 2016 MEP Giants are now open!
Go to www.csemag.com/giants to download the official 2016 MEP Giants submission form.
Average MEP/FP
design billings
Commissioning/retro-commissioning
Other
New construction
research
7% 3%
13%
42%
2016 FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY STUDY:
35%
Maintenance/
operation
i
Seven key findings
Retrofit/
renovation
i
Figure 1: Firms that specify electrical

and power systems generally earn
their mechanical, electrical, plumbing
(MEP), and fire protection revenue
from new construction and retrofit/
renovation projects. ConsultingSpecifying Engineer 2015 Electrical
and Power Study
18:
Average number of years

lighting engineers have been involved
in lighting design. Source: ConsultingSpecifying Engineer 2015 Lighting and
Lighting Controls Study
32%:
Average amount of a
mechanical engineers billable hours/
time at work spent research/specifying HVAC systems and BAS. Source:
Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2015
HVAC and Building Automation Controls Study
$9.2 million:
Average annual mechanical, electrical,

plumbing, and fire protection design
revenue earned by firms designing
fire and life safety systems. Source:
Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016
Fire and Life Safety Study
espondents to the ConsultingSpecifying Engineer 2016 Fire

and Life Safety Study identified
seven high-level findings impacting
the fire and life safety industry:
1. Building structures: Buildings
respondents specify, design, or make
fire and life safety system product
selections for office buildings (75%),
industrial/manufacturing facilities/
warehouses (56%), government buildings/military facilities (49%), and college/university buildings (49%).
2. Systems specified: Three-quarters
of respondents specify or expect to
specify detection productsincluding control systems, dampers, and fire,
smoke, heat, and linear detectors.
3. Systems value: The average total
annual dollar amount of fire and life
safety systems specified for new and
existing systems is $2.2 million.
4. Challenges: When asked about
fire and life safety system design and
specification challenges, six in 10
respondents indicated they were challenged by subjective interpretation
Consulting-Specifying Engineer covers several research topics each year.

All reports are available at
www.csemag.com/research.
www.csemag.com
View more information at

www.csemag.com/2016FireLifeSafety.
Amanda Pelliccione is the research
director at CFE Media.
Fire and life safety systems involvement

Determine requirements/
write specifications
Research and
evaluate options
Supervise or consult
on project
79%
64%
62%
53%
Recommend brand
32%
Select brand
24%
Approve purchase
9%
Place order
More research
of regulations by code authorities,

inadequate design budget, designing
for interoperability and integration
of systems, codes and standards, and
education as constant hurdles.
5. Disciplines: Local authorities
having jurisdiction (AHJs) or fire
officials have the most input and
impact on fire and life safety design,
according to 72% of respondents,
followed by owners (43%), architects
(40%), and electrical engineers (38%).
6. Design factors: Product quality
(70%), service support (47%), and
manufacturers reputation (42%) were
identified as extremely important to
respondents when selecting fire and
life safety systems.
7. Experience: The average engineer involved in fire and life safety
systems has been in the industry for
23 years.
Retrofit systems only
3%
Figure 2: Eight in 10 respondents determine requirements/write specifications for fire

and life safety systems. Courtesy: Consulting-Specifying Engineer
www.csemag.com/research FOR MORE RESEARCH INFORMATION
Electrical Design for Motors

Learn all of the skills necessary to design branch circuits for motors. This course will cover
single and three phase induction motors, elevator motors, fire pumps, and refrigeration motors. Not only will you learn over current and short circuit protection, you will also learn the
National Electrical Code (NEC) criteria for sizing conduit and wire for these motors. Learn little
known design tips to reduce installation costs, while still staying within all the NEC criteria for
the design of these branch circuits.
This course has been approved for 6 AIA LU credits. Plus, registration discounts are available
to the first 30 seats and are offered on a first come, first served basis.
These self-paced courses are interactive and entirely online. The lecture videos and other
materials are available any time, and the instructor responds to student questions as needed.
START DATE: March 21, 2016
COURSE LENGTH: 3 weeks
INSTRUCTOR: Ken Lovorn, PE, President, Lovorn Engineering Associates
CREDITS FOR COURSE: 6 AIA LU (learning units)
Learn more at www.csemag.com/ElectricalDesignforMotors and register today!
In partnership with
Career Smart
BY JANE SIDEBOTTOM
AMK LLC, Louisville, Ky.
Finding passion in your work

Time for a gut check: Are you passionate about what you do?
e have heard the saying

credited to Confucius: Do
what you love, and you
will never work a day in your life. No
doubt, many have written on this critically acclaimed statement, some arguing that work is just thatworkand
you wont love all aspects of it.
Personally, I love what I do. I
thrive on helping my clients leverage
their businesses successes, find new
markets, develop new products and
services, and better understand their
customers unmet needs. And, there
are parts that I love less than others.
But the passion I have for the design,
engineering, and construction industry is what drives me to constantly
look for new ways to help my clients
be successful. As a business leader, I
look for opportunities to interact with
others who are passionate about their
professions. Individuals who love what
they do energize me, and interacting
with them helps me drive through the
not-so-fun aspects of my work.
I recently had the opportunity to
tour the newly renovated Daytona
International Speedway with a senior
construction executive for the International Speedway Corp. (ISC). ISC is in
the final stages of completing a $400
million renovation to the racetrack in
preparation for its first NASCAR event.
The track has been designed to maximize the fan experience in ways this car
racing fan has never experienced. From
the movement of fans in and out of the
viewing areas, the interaction with race
car drivers and race teams, the seamless
www.csemag.com
inclusion of key venue sponsors, and

the services to support all aspects of
racing, this is a project to be proud of.
As this racing fan was indulged with
story after story of emergency repairs
to barriers mid-race, MacGyver-type
solutions to fix track potholes that
could have prevented a race start, and
the detailed understanding of how
the expansion design was focused on
delivering a superior customer experience, I was struck with how much the
construction leader loved his work. Our
afternoon together reminded me of
what separates good from great leaders:
finding that intersection of what you
love and what you do well.
Whether it is the struggle to pay off
college loans, the pressures of supporting a family, or the twist and turns our
careers can take that are beyond our
control, sometimes we find ourselves in
a position where we question whether
we really like what we are doing. If you
find yourself in this position, consider
using one of the exercises from Robert
Steven Kaplans March 2015 article in
Harvard Business Review: Two Ways
to Clarify Your Professional Passions.
Kaplan offers several exercises to help
you define your professional passions.
The method that most resonates with
me is his exercise that recommends
thinking back to a time when you felt
you were doing your best work. He
then advises you to write down detailed
answers to the following questions:
When was a time when you were at
your best?
What were you doing?

What were the key elements of the
environment?
What was the nature of the impact
you were making?
Did you have a boss or were you
self-directed?
What did you love about it?
What were the factors that made it
enjoyable and helped you shine?
The answers to these questions may
be all you need to find that spot where
what you love and what you do well
intersect. This will help you understand what you should be doing, but
not necessarily how you can get to that
spot. Consider sitting down with your
mentor or coach to map out a plan to
get to the role that allows you to do
your best work.
My afternoon tour of the Daytona
Speedway led to a weekend of watching 31 high-performance racing teams
compete in the 24-hour endurance race.
It left me with an even stronger appreciation for how passionate leaders can
drive outstanding outcomes.
Jane Sidebottom is the owner of AMK
LLC, a management and marketing
consulting firm that provides market
development and growth expertise to
small and medium-size firms. She has
more than 20 years of management and
leadership experience in both consultingengineering and Fortune 100 organizations. Sidebottom is a graduate of the
University of Maryland.
11
MEP Roundtable
Enhancing the learning

experience in K-12 schools
K-12 schools are among the most important projects engineers can tackle.
Professionals with expertise in mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection,
lighting, and commissioning offer design advice for educational facilities.
CSE: Please describe a recent
K-12 school project youve worked
onshare details about the project,
including location, building type,
team involved, etc.
Tony Cocea: DLR Group is in the
midst of a comprehensive program to
upgrade the lighting systems at Malibu
High School in California. The project
includes the classrooms, library, administration, gymnasium, auditorium, and
cafeteria buildings. We are replacing
existing fluorescent fixtures with LED
fixtures. We implemented the latest California Title 24 requirements for controls
and used Exergy digital network lighting
controls.
We also are working at Paseo Del Rey
and Coldwater elementary schools in
Los Angeles. Each project had a basis of
design (BOD) document and a lifecycle
cost analysis provided as a part of the
predesign effort. The BOD alleviated
any confusion between the designer
and the owner because it provided a
document to reference and a way to
best facilitate communication with the
owner. The projects included singlestory existing classroom buildings and

involved mechanical, electrical, and
plumbing (MEP), and structural design.
Michael Do: At the New Ballou High
School in Washington, D.C., our company is designing an innovative net zero
school facility with common HVAC
and energy systems, but combined in a
unique manner. The building is slated
for 4 floors, with a total building area of
322,000 sq ft, and includes a large football stadium. The District of Columbia
is pursuing U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum as well as a Net Zero
Energy Building certification.
Mark Fisher: AlfaTech, as a part of lead
architect BCAs design team, completed
MEP design for the new 140,000-sqft Christopher High School in Gilroy,
Calif., which has achieved Collaborative
for High Performance School (CHPS)
schools status. The campus includes
classrooms, a cafeteria, and a gym.
Douglas R. Hundley Jr.: A recent project we completed is a new high school
in a rural district of Kentucky: Nelson
County Public Schools. Thomas Nelson
Tony Cocea,
PE
Principal
DLR Group
Los Angeles
12
High School was a new high school to

relieve the existing high school, which
was exceeding capacity. The new school
is a 144,000-sq-ft, 1,000-student school,
serving grade levels 9 to 12. In addition
to the traditional classrooms, the facility
included a 2,000-seat gymnasium, 450seat auditorium, field house, football
field, baseball field, softball field, soccer
field, and band-practice area.
The district was very interested in
high-performance design, and through
collaborative design starting at the
programming and schematic phase,
the school is operating at an energyuse intensity (EUI) of 22.7, and is the
most efficient high school in the state of
Kentucky. High-performance strategies
include a ground-source heat pump system, dedicated outdoor air units with
energy recovery and occupancy-based
ventilation controls, daylighting of all
south-facing classrooms, insulating
concrete form (ICF) wall construction,
super-insulated roof, and window tuning to reduce solar loading.
Peter McClive: The Inventing Tomorrow project has made the Niagara Falls
Michael Do,
CEM, CxA,
AX TCP
James Dolan,
PE, CEM, CPMP,
LEED AP
Director of Engineering Sciences

and Commissioning
Setty
Fairfax, Va.
Principal in Charge of
Energy Engineering
Services
OLA Consulting
Engineers
Hawthorne, N.Y.
www.csemag.com
Figure 1: AlfaTech Consulting Engineers recently completed the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design for the new
140,000-sq-ft Christopher High School in Gilroy, Calif. The Collaborative for High Performance School (CHPS)-certified campus
includes classrooms, a cafeteria, and a gym. Courtesy: AlfaTech Consulting Engineers
City School District the first known

school district in New York State to construct dedicated, shared science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)
labs in every school building. Stakeholders believe that providing students with
STEM education from kindergarten
through high school encourages collaborative problem solving and multifaceted exploration to be a natural part
of students thought process.
In particular, Niagara Falls High
School received two STEM specialty
labs, one focused on engineering and
one on biomedical technology. The
engineering lab is equipped with overhead utility grids, mobile furniture, a
prep room, lab utilities, and 3-D printing; the biomedical technology lab
provides fully outfitted student lab stations, a fume hood, a prep room, and
a 3-D interactive whiteboard allowing
virtual dissection. K-8 labs, agile for a
Mark Fisher,
PE, LEED AP
Principal
AlfaTech
Consulting
Engineers
San Jose, Calif.
www.csemag.com
wide variety of subject matter, consist

of three distinct zones: an open area for
large, possibly floor-based project work;
a workshop zone with mobile group
tables and chairs; and a resource bar
for computing, note taking, and workin-progress displays. Custom-designed
rock walls adorn each lab, displaying a
cross-section of the geological layers of
the nearby Niagara Gorge, complete with
related fossils and era timelines.
CSE: When commissioning K-12
school buildings, whats the biggest
challenge?
James Dolan: A key challenge for
commissioning is that the commissioning authority (CxA) is often brought in
later in the design or near the start of
construction. Successful commissioning
relies on the CxA integrating with the
team early, helping the owner establish
Douglas R.
Hundley Jr.,
PE, CGD,
LEED AP, CxA
Mechanical
Engineer
CMTA Consulting
Engineers
Louisville, Ky.
the owners project requirements (OPR)

at the outset of a project. Due to funding
structures, the CxA for public schools
is often brought later in the project,
when key features to help with comfort,
turnover, and maintenance are already
value-engineered.
Do: As more innovative strategies are
designed in an attempt to save energy,
CxAs must have strong controls and
integration skill sets to guide and verify
the proper implementation and integration of these systems. Many of these
contractors have been building these
schools for 20 years and additional
coordination is needed, especially with
regard to the integration and controls of
systems such as dedicated heat-recovery
chillers, geothermal, chilled-beam, and
variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems.
Additionally, sometimes sequences of
operation are overly complex, leading
to difficulties in programming and
Peter McClive,
PE, LEED AP
Senior Vice President
CannonDesign
Grand Island, N.Y.
13
MEP Roundtable
Figure 2: The collaboratorium at a middle school CannonDesign completed for

the Addison (N.Y.) Central School District is a true high-tech student commons,
equipped with a full touchscreen teaching-and-display wall and a U-shaped bench
seat of renewable wood on which students can cluster into smaller teams and
connect via notebooks on the screen as well as open-access wipe-off boards.
Courtesy: CannonDesign
execution. It is important for designers

to be conscious of energy efficiency and
constructability when creating their
controls strategies, and for commissioning engineers to be able to bridge
any gaps that may exist.
Fisher: We find that many contractors
are unfamiliar with commissioning, so
educating them on the process is a challenge. Also, selection of the low bidder
(no matter what) is a challenge, as you
typically get what you pay for and the
quality of service can be lower than with
other, more experienced bidders. Also,
air conditioning is required in most districts, but teachers dislike the noise the
air conditioner makes, and some even
turn them off. Therefore, acoustics is a
very important consideration.
McClive: New York States Energy Conservation Construction Code (adopted
January 2015) mandates commissioning
for all MEP systems. Consultants need to
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explicitly state their assumptions regarding commissioning in proposals while

advising clients that commissioning is
now a code requirement.
Hundley: The biggest challenge we
face on projects is timely completion of
the building systems to complete proper
commissioning before school is occupied. Typically, we are commissioning
the school after the building is occupied.
Commissioning the buildings after the
building has been occupied results in
increased time to complete the work, as
we have to address complaints, which are
usually a result of incomplete systems or
incorrect setpoints. It is not to say that
the controls contractor is at fault, as project schedules always get compressed at
the end. This is a challenge the entire
team needs to help improve.
CSE: Public school enrollment is
predicted to increase 6% through
2025. How will this population

increase change classroom requirements, school safety, or other
design issues?
Hundley: Population increase will
require classrooms to be more flexible,
allowing multiple teaching configurations. Improvements in classroom technology will be critical for teachers to
make sure all students are getting the best
education, in school or at home. School
safety is a present concern, regardless
of population increase. We have seen
tremendous changes in security in the
past 5 years, and expect it to continually
evolve as technology improves.
Cocea: The designers in DLR Groups
K-12 studio are constantly innovating
and evolving K-12 design. Our engineering teams are integrated into those
design teams, and as energy cost continues to climb, the design of HVAC
building systems will become the focal

point. These systems need to be resilient
and flexible and, to some degree, redundant. For example, if an auditorium has
an HVAC system set to accommodate
600 students, being a performance-based
system, it should be capable of adjusting
to the elements so there is no shortage of
air, heating, or water.
Fisher: We have found that enrollment in some local areas is declining
due to the housing crunch. California
law includes class-size limitations so an
increase in population would result in
new construction (more portables and/
or classrooms to be built). However,
many districts consider leasing of portables as a waste of money, so they will
typically end up building permanent
buildings whenever possible.
CSE: On what aspect of K-12 projects do you see the most emphasis
MEP Roundtable
being placed by building owners?
In what areas is your firm doing the
most engineering work?
Fisher: Clients are leaning toward
more sustainable projects (building
envelope, natural lighting, etc.). There
are still some roadblocks, however. Construction budgets are usually locked due
to bond amounts being fixed, so payback
isnt really a critical element in the design
process. In other words, districts typically cannot increase the budget to purchase elements of the project that may
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systems is not possible.
McClive: Emphasis is being placed on
three key areas:
1. Health and safety in the existing
buildings, to comply with latest life safety codessystems include fire alarm,
carbon monoxide-detection, and ADArelated building components
2. Energy and sustainability following
nationally accepted benchmarks for the
design, construction, and operation of
high-performance green buildings
3. Commissioning including inspection, testing, and training to confirm
that building systems are operating correctly and conform to the design intent.
Hundley: Owners are looking for flexible classrooms with classroom technology to address different teaching methods. Classroom technology requirements
have tremendously expanded. Students
use so much technology at home, and the
classroom is the natural extension. As
technology devices play a larger role in
our everyday life, classrooms have taken
advantage of these for learning in creative ways. One-to-one and bring-yourown-device (BYOD) schools are on the
increase, and that ushers in a new set of
infrastructure requirements to satisfy the
usage load. For instance, wireless in the
past might have been provided for convenience, but now it is often required to
enable interactive learning practices and
for the teachers lesson plans. The most
engineering work is spent on HVAC and
classroom technology design.
Cocea: Energy use and environmental
impact. These elements are intertwined;
theyre connected. We have to be able to
size the owners concerns and get them
interested in allowing us to design a very
energy-efficient system. HVAC, water
reclamation, and electrical design form
the main focus for DLR Group to comply with the benchmarks we have set for
16
MARCH 2016
energy efficiency. A less energy-intensive system will cost an

owner more upfront, but the longevity of the system gives them
a better deal over time. Its up to the designers to make building
owners see the bigger picture.
CSE: Describe your experience working with the contractor, architect, owner, or other team members in creating a BIM model for a K-12 project.
Cocea: The experience is very positive. The use of BIM technology allows the team members to collaborate faster to deliver
better construction documents; it helps reduce risk.
Hundley: We have completed many projects, using Autodesk
Revit, to create a well-coordinated building. The most interesting projects include some net zero projects completed in
Adrian, Mich.; Arlington, Va.; and Dallas. The BIM model
has greatly impacted the MEP system design as far as the time
spent in preparing documents. There has to be a fair balance
of how much time is spent on modeling, and getting the owner
the most value for the money spent.
McClive: Our company has been implementing BIM modeling standards and workflows in all project designs for the past
10 years. Our collection of integrated practice requirements
was created to support the design, documentation, and project delivery. BIM models are a key design tool embraced by
the entire project delivery team (owner, contractor, architect,
engineer) in support of their project roles.
CSE: Have you specified a unique water treatment or
conservation system in a K-12 building?
Hundley: At Thomas Nelson High School we used an existing pond to capture surface runoff and irrigate the playing
fields. No potable water is used to irrigate the playing fields.
The water treatment consists of different filters to remove any
particulates, but water treatment was not a concern, given the
use. We also have completed numerous rainwater-harvesting
systems, where we collect water off the roof and use it to flush
toilets and urinals. Depending on the local requirements, water
treatment varies.
In Dallas, we used a UV light for bacterial treatment, filtration for particulates, and dyed the water so anyone that taps
the piping knows that the water is nonpotable. These systems
consist of 20,000-gallon buried tanks, with roof drain or gutter piping directed to the tanks. Depending on different site
conditions or water utility cost, these systems have a return on
investment (ROI) of 8 to 10 years.
Fisher: In California, water conservation is of utmost importance due to the extreme drought conditions throughout most
of the state. We have specified numerous waterless urinals and
low-flow fixtures to reduce water consumption for many of our
K-12 clients. One waterless urinal saves more than 40,000 gallons of water per year, so this has proved to be very instrumental
17
MEP Roundtable
in water conservation. California also has
stormwater-retention regulations; however, these are addressed in the civil design.
CSE: Describe a recent retrofit of
a K-12 school building. What were
the challenges and solutions?
Figure 3: CMTA Engineers recently completed Thomas Nelson High School in Kentucky, a new structure designed to relieve the existing over-capacity facility. The
new 144,000-sq-ft school includes a 2,000-seat gymnasium, 45-seat auditorium, field
house, football field, baseball field, softball field, soccer field, and a band practice
area, in addition to traditional classrooms. Courtesy: CMTA Engineers
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Do: Renovations often include the

repurposing of spaces. With tight budgets,
schools often attempt to refurbish equipment in lieu of replacement. This presents
issues when spaces originally designed for
offices with low-occupant loads are then
repurposed for higher classroom loads.
This also presents issues with equipment
and ductwork sizes, which require tremendous amounts of coordination with
existing building systems, and require
thorough building surveys to ensure construction issues are mitigated.
Cocea: First cost versus lifecycle costs is
always a topic of discussion. For example,
we recently completed a renovation project
for a school district that requested a school
be retrofitted with the rooftop packaged
units as a replacement of the 20-year-old
water-source heat pump system. During
the schematic-design phase of the project, we performed a lifecycle cost analysis
and determined that a VRF system was
the most appropriate system for the project. However, the school district selected
the rooftop package units option, which
offered a lower first-cost option.
Hundley: We complete multiple K-12
school building renovations every year.
The biggest challenge is managing project scope and budget, so the work can be
completed over the summer break. While
there are a number of things that owners
want to fix or change, you have to prioritize items, so the work can be completed
in the allotted time frame. We have completed some projects over multiple phases,
which include shutting down parts of the
building and moving students, so phasing
of systems and utilities are also critical.
Fisher: Some challenges we faced
were structural in nature, relating to
the weight of the new HVAC system in
replacement projects (ensuring that the
18
MARCH 2016
existing structural supports can hold

the weight). Also, another challenge was
the addition of the power to the new air
conditioning systems in schools that did
not previously have them. We recently
designed to replace the existing HVAC
with new, more efficient units for three
schools in the south San Jose area.
McClive: In the first year of a 5-year
planning process required by the New
York State Education Department, the
Addison Central School District, a small
rural district serving 1,200 students, discovered that it faced an array of problems
too complex to be met by mere piecemeal improvements: obsolete facilities,
small classrooms, inadequate space for
special education and other mandated
programs, and a list of repairs vastly
exceeding the annual operating budget.
CannonDesign helped the district define
priorities, ensure fair distribution of
resources, and devise a logical, buildingby-building phasing strategy that was
unanimously approved by the districts
facilities committee, budget committee,
and board of education.
The first phase, approved by referendum, converts the existing junior/
senior high school serving grades 7
through 12 into a middle/high school
serving grades 6 through 12. Additions
and strategic infill house classrooms,
science labs, a separate cafeteria, and
a relocated and expanded library and
media center. Dedicated houses cluster each grade with its own classrooms,
special education rooms, science and
computer labs, and toilets, encouraging
flexibility, familiarity, and accountability. The challenge was to sequence the
construction in phases that minimized
disruption to classes and operations,
allowed manageable blocks of work to
commence during summer recess, and
smaller work scope to occur during evening hours throughout the school year.
CSE: When working on monitoring and control systems in K-12
structures, what factors do you consider?
MARCH 2016
19
Do: When designing controls systems for K-12 structures, it is important to consider occupant comfort first
and foremost. Our ultimate customers
are the kids that are there to learn, and
we need to be conscious of providing
sequences and systems that will offer an
environment that is conducive to that.
The majority of our clients in this sector have multiple facilities and are looking to standardize the look and feel of
the controls across their portfolio. Our
designs incorporate open platforms to
try to meet this desire for consistency
without sacrificing the clients ability to
seek completion from the free and fair
marketplace. While the push for open
protocols, such as BACnet and Modbus,
have helped foster competition, it has
not solved the problem of each vendor
using exclusive tools for their controllers
that prevent competitors from being able
to edit or service them. Open-platform
products, such as those built on the Tridium Niagara platform, give all suppliers
access to identical programming tools
and allow owners the ability to competitively bid service projects and retrofits
without having to worry about dealing
with multiple vendors for any various
controls in their facilities.
Cocea: The main factors we consider
are: the control systems level of userfriendliness, whether the control system
has tech support, and how can we take a
proactive approach to the project.
Fisher: Districts typically like direct
digital controls (DDC), but maintenance people are not familiar with how
to maintain them, so we always keep ease
of use for all users in mind for a project.
Hundley: Owners requirements vary,
depending on whether it is a net zero
building or a high-performance building. Some owners like to see different
components of energy usage, which
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MEP Roundtable
requires submetering. Outside of the specialty items, we consider all sensors or information needed to properly monitor
the system and allow for remote diagnosis of a system. That
is the real value to school-district maintenance staff. If they
the sequence of operations

Specifying
should occur earlier in the design process to
help ensure the operation of the HVAC system
is as intended and maximize the flexibility of
James Dolan
the systems.
can partially diagnose the problem before going to the school,

they will be able to reduce the amount of time spent on maintenanceand the resulting downtimepotentially affecting
the classroom space conditions.
Dolan: Energy efficiency goes hand-in-hand with comfort
control for students/teachers as well as maintenance of systems. Individual control of classrooms is imperative and can
span from HVAC controls and lighting to operable windows.
A classroom may be thought of as a black box space because
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it is often unknown exactly how that classroom will be used

from day to day and year to year. A building management
system (BMS) that trends the important parameters will enable
operators to ensure the key features are available and operating properly and in an efficient way. When specifying energy
meters, the interoperability with the BMS being used is a key
factor to ensure they work as intended.
CSE: What are some common problems you
encounter with building automation systems (BAS)
in such projects?
Dolan: Often, the controls are brought online very late in the
construction process and at times are completed after occupants are in the building. Getting changes that are desired
when it is late in the process can be difficult. BMS/BAS systems are more flexible and ubiquitous than ever. Specifying
the sequence of operations should occur earlier in the design
process to help ensure the operation of the HVAC system is
as intended and maximize the flexibility of the systems. By
making the intended system operation clear to the end users
earlier in the process, the integration of the controls with the
equipment to be controlled can be coordinated, and any questions on operation can be vetted with the owner, which would
help manage expectations.
Do: Lack of coordination between the mechanical and controls contractors with regard to controls integration is a major
problem we encounter. More pieces of equipment are coming
with onboard controls, and precise plans and specifications are
needed to avoid scope gaps with regard to provision of controls
instrumentation and performing all aspects of the sequence of
operation. Simply specifying BACnet protocol is not enough
to ensure cohesive interoperability between systems.
On the commissioning side, we recently encountered a
project where the air handling units specified use of packaged
controls that were not capable of any static pressure reset controlalthough the sequence called for the units to do so. This
created a conflict with regard to meeting the intended design.
Fisher: Scheduling enough time for commissioning, programming, and training the owner for maintenance procedures. To address these problems, we find that the simpler
the system is, the better.
CSE: What types of system integration and/or interoperability issues have you overcome, and how did you do so?
Dolan: A key challenge for system integration and interoperability occurs with energy metering. If meters to monitor
usage are installed by individual trades and then the information is pulled back into the BMS, the integration of the
meters can be a challenge. One solution is to have the controls contractor purchase the meters and have each respective
20
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trade install. This could reduce the interoperability issues and

result in a single point of responsibility.
Hundley: Small or large districts all face a similar problem.
On one hand, you would like to standardize controls, but you
have to be careful to allow for competitive bidding to keep
costs reasonable. Plus, a lot of state institutions require you
to include multiple manufacturers for competitive bidding.
Most of our districts have a standardized graphic software
and system structure that allows multiple manufacturers to
provide services.
Do: Lack of coordination between the mechanical and controls contractors with regard to controls integration is at the
root of the majority of problems we encounter. In our specifications, we require the contractor to name a master controls
integrator who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the
systems installed will be able to meet the full design intent.
This starts with a controls coordination meeting that takes
place during the submittal phase of a project to work through
any potential scope gaps early in the process. The master controls integrator can be one of the contractors on the project,
a neutral third party, or sometimes we fulfill this role for our
own designs. When designing integrated controls, our engineers will use the manufacturers point register to determine
exactly which data points are available for sharing across the
BAS for the basis of design units and provide this information
on the drawings.
CSE: How do you meter or submeter the various
portions of the building, such as a gym, auditorium,
cafeteria, etc.?
EIG-Consulting Industrial 2/11/16 10:59 AM Page 1
Power Quality Metering

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Cocea: There are two ways to meter power. The typical

method is to segregate the loads to different panels, and each
panel can be metered at the main feeder. This is applicable to
larger loads that will require you to provide several panels. For
smaller buildings where it is not cost-effective to provide fullscale panels, there are two options: one is with a split-bus panel
and the other is a panel with branch-circuit power monitoring.
A split-bus panel has two sections, and the upper section can
be metered separately from the bottom section. The upper
meter shall register the totalized panel load and the bottom
meter shall register the bottom half-section load. Subtracting
the bottom meter load from the upper meter load gives you
the upper section load. A panel with branch-circuit power
monitoring is a regular panel and has two strips of current
transformers (CT) located inside of the enclosure. A 42-circuit
panel can have 42 CTs to monitor every circuit load.
Do: Most of our K-12 clients are interested in facilitywide
metering more than individual space resolution. However, one
recent net zero-ready project was designed to provide measurement and verification at the sample rate and granularity
required by LEED measurement and verification (M&V; real
MARCH 2016 Consulting-Specifying Engineer
measurement, not modeled, and not from utility bills), and to

provide for current and future energy mandates. Additionally,
the metering points were incorporated to augment controls
resets and optimize energy savings through advanced sequence
of operations and the mandatory post-construction tuning
processes executed by the master controls integrator.
Individual current transducers and power-monitoring hubs
on each piece of equipment were integrated to the BAS, and
using temperature- and flow-monitoring devices for both air
and hydronic systems allowed for comprehensive tracking of
Btus. The lighting system was also fully integrated at the classroom level of resolution to pinpoint total energy consumption
throughout the facility. Generally, this level of metering would
be too costly for most customers, but for facilities looking to
pursue net zero, it can be beneficial.
Hundley: We are typically more interested in the energy
usage of various systems (HVAC, lighting, information technology, etc.) instead of different areas of the building. We have in
the past metered the first-grade wing versus the second-grade
wing, for example, to foster competition. Multipoint meters
make it possible to monitor all building loads from a single
location. This allows us to install one meter (with multiple sets
of CTs) at the main switchgear, instead of large quantities of
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MEP Roundtable
individual meters throughout the building, to capture all loads.
CSE: What types of renewable
energy systems have you recently
specified in a K-12 project?
Fisher: Photovoltaics (PV) were used
as a part of the new Willie L. Brown Jr.
Middle School in San Francisco. AlfaTech was recently selected to provide MEP,
technology, and solar PV engineering
The project entails a less-traditional

school model and is comprised of
grade-level learning communities.
(Learning communities are collaborative and activity-based environments.)
The new campus also will include
administrative spaces, a multipurpose
flexible space, a resource center, and a
warming kitchen. The building will be 1
or 2 stories. Other onsite work includes
outdoor play and landscaped areas, staff
parking, and a new parking lot for both
Figure 4: Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn, Va., is one of the recent high school projects completed by Setty. The new construction facility, which opened in 2014, includes
multiple gymnasiums, a media center, auditorium, computer and design labs, and other
features. Courtesy: Setty
design services for bridging design and

related services. The new approximately
70,000-sq-ft middle school will replace an
existing school site complex located at the
same address that is being demolished.
The new facility is being constructed under a design-build construction
delivery method. AlfaTech is providing
MEP and technology documents up
to design-development level to assist
design-build contractors in preparing
their engineered design-build construction documents for Division of the State
Architect approval. The MEP/technology design-build contractor will be the
engineer of record.
Also, ground-source heat pumps were
used in the new elementary school for
Milpitas Unified School District. This
new K-6 elementary school for 800 students is approximately 63,000 sq ft with
a construction budget of $22,113,000.
22
the school site and the city park. The

offsite work involves the widening of
McCandless Drive to accommodate a
new vehicle drop-off and pick-up lane,
a dedicated right-turn lane, and a new
traffic signal. The intent is to meet California Building Code green building
code requirements.
Hundley: Solar PV and solar thermal
energy systems are the only renewable energy systems that work well in
most areas of the country. Sufficient
wind resources are not available in
many locations, and utility-scale wind
turbines are generally much more economical than small-scale systems. We
have designed a number of large solar
PV systems for high-performance and
zero energy projects. The falling cost of
PV has allowed many K-12 owners to
achieve ROI of less than 15 years on a
system that will provide clean energy for
30 or more years. We often employ solar

thermal demonstration systems, but not
large-scale systems unless a significant
amount of hot-water demand exists (i.e.,
large indoor pool facilities, laundry, or
central kitchens). K-12 schools are not
occupied in the summer when the most
solar hot-water production is available.
CSE: What unique HVAC requirements do K-12 building projects
have that you wouldnt encounter in
other buildings?
Cocea: In K-12 buildings, some
HVAC requirements include noise
issues and the level of air circulation in
elementary schools. This is a consistent
consideration in the K-12 environment
that often requires a custom design solution on a project-by-project basis.
Hundley: One unique requirement is
the transitional loading of a building.
There are different loading requirements,
from all students located in a classroom
to all students located in a gymnasium or
auditorium for a school assembly. Taking advantage of these different loading
conditions can result in smaller central
plants or outdoor air systems.
Fisher: Most classrooms are served by
individual units (no variable air volume,
or VAV, system), with higher ventilation
rates and tight acoustic requirements.
CSE: What changes in fans, variable frequency drives (VFDs), and
other related equipment have you
experienced?
Dolan: ASHRAE Standard 90.1, which
informs energy-code requirements, has
continued to increase performance levels. As states adopt later versions of the
standard on their energy code, a key
metric is overlooked: brake horsepower/
cubic feet per minute (bhp/cfm). Longterm, this metric is important to optimize as it translates to ongoing savings
or, if ignored, penalties for the owner.
Working early in the process with the
owner and architect to put mechanical
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rooms or rooftop equipment near the

end use is important to reduce that fan
horsepower. Moving the energy via hot
and chilled water is a winning strategy
as well. We have encouraged the use of
a complete perimeter hot-water heating
system to enable fans to be off when the
school is not occupied.
Fisher: More efficient systems are generally available, and the size and cost of
equipment are smaller than in years past.
Hundley: We have seen a trend toward
more direct-drive fans, even in larger air
handling units. VFDs are commonplace,
and the cost is equal to a typical electric
motor starter. We use VFDs on all pumps
and fans over a certain size, regardless of
constant volume operation. The VFD
gives you more flexibility in balancing
and a built-in soft start, reducing the
inrush current associated with starting a
motor. We also see most unitary equipment using electronically commutated
motors, reducing energy usage while
providing flexible operating conditions.
CSE: What indoor air quality (IAQ)
or indoor environmental quality
(IEQ) challenges have you recently
overcome? Describe the project,
and how you solved the problem.
Cocea: A recent elementary school
I worked on was located near the I-10
freeway in Santa Monica, Calif. It was
continually impacted by air pollution
due to its proximity to the freeway. Outside air (OA) intake filters were provided to arrest pollutants, and economizer
controls were used to deliver 100% OA
into the spaces based on wind direction.
Hundley: On a recent renovation project, the school was experiencing issues
with high humidity levels and mold
growth above the ceiling plenum. We
performed a building assessment and
identified that the building was running at a negative pressure: The building
controls were nonfunctional and a large
majority of the outdoor air dampers
on the unit ventilators were closed. All
exhaust fans were running continuously
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and inducing unconditioned outdoor

air through any available opening in the
building. The building was renovated
from a two-pipe unit ventilator system
to a ground-source heat pump system,
with dedicated outdoor air units with
energy recovery. The project cost was
greatly reduced by reusing the existing
piping, pumps, ceilings, and lighting.
After the renovations, the school energy
consumption was reduced by 60% and
all IAQ issues were addressed.
CSE: Describe a challenging
building envelope project you
recently designed in a K-12 building.
Hundley: The building envelope is
a critical part of a high-performance

building. We like to be an integral part
of the building envelope design with the
architectural team. With the increased
complexity of building designs, there is a
constructability concern. For a building
to be truly high-performance, the building envelope has to be well-insulated
with a tight air and vapor barrier. To help
address some of the system complexities, it is best to reduce the workmanship
required to cut and fit insulation.
A couple of strategies used include
spray foam insulation and insulating
concrete form (ICF) walls to accomplish
the increased insulation and tight air and
vapor barriers. Our best-performing buildings have used spray foam or ICF walls.
Window tuning is also important. We have
used different types of glazing, depending on the building exposure. West- and
south-facing glass result in larger solar
loads, and spending the money to increase
the shading coefficient at these exposures
will produce better results than using it
across the entire building.
Fisher: All of the schools in the North
Bay Area (California) had heating systems only, and the owner wanted air
conditioning units. The challenge was
that there was no insulation in the walls
and very little on the roof, so the building envelope was key. It was too costly to
remove all the interior Sheetrock, insulate
the building, and reinstall the Sheetrock

and finish it. Instead, we blew in the insulation between the studs to insulate the
walls, which is a typical method for residential projects. And rather than insulating under the roof framing, we put the bat
insulation on top of the ceiling grid.
CSE: Energy efficiency and sustainability are often a request from
building owners. What net zero
energy and/or high-performance
systems have you recently specified
on a K-12 building (either an existing
building or new construction)?
Hundley: All of our five net zero K-12
buildings used ground-source heat
pump systems. Our best-performing
schools all use ground-source heat pump
systems, ranging from a site energy-use
index (EUI) of 18 to 26.
Dolan: A key for owners to reach net
zero is to optimize the size of the HVAC
systems as well as lighting and other loads
in the building. Using energy analysis as
well as engaging the load calculations and
other tools to improve the envelope are
necessary early steps. Insulation performance, tightness of building, type and
amount of glazing, as well as proper orientation are all considerations.
Ground-coupled heat pumps are
good options because they can be efficient, avoid fossil fuels, and also enable
the design team to start at an already
lowered energy use. Heat recovery to
address outside air/exhaust is critical; all
systems, short of kitchen-grease exhaust,
should be passed through the exchanger.
Achieving some level of renewables is
an important approach to consider on
every project. If the overall system size
is reduced significantly, the remaining
energy use may be accounted for with
solar PV or solar thermal energy.
Read more at
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Alternative HVAC systems
Codes and standards
Electrical and power systems
Energy efficiency and sustainability
Security and access control.
23
Codes & Standards

Water management in commercial
buildingsthinking differently
Throughout the world, there is increased pressure to track and
conserve water in nonresidential buildings. This article reviews the
current water management options, such as using greywater and
rainwater, and looks at less traditional management options, such
as wastewater and condensate reuse.
BY PETER HARBOUR, PHD, and ROBYN OVERALL, PHD, CJ Arms and Associates, Port Melbourne, Australia
Learning
objectives
Assess the options to track
and conserve water in buildings.
Demonstrate water-reuse
opportunities.
Make use of codes and
standards to design and
specify water-management
systems.
s the worlds population continues to

grow and our cities and suburbs expand,
with more buildings to accommodate
the growth, we are facing a major challenge to
manage and protect our valuable water resources. This is becoming especially critical under the
added pressure of climate change.
The conventional and common approach to
water management involves supplying potable
water and disposing of wastewater and stormwater. The latter may be disposed of onsite. It is
becoming increasingly apparent that this con-
ventional, centralized approach must change in

response to urbanization trends and climate predictions. As the availability of clean freshwater
resources is diminished, it is becoming clear that
wastewater and stormwater should be viewed as
alternative and valuable sources of water, and
not just inconveniences needing to be dealt with.
Consequently, rainwater collection and reuse
and the reuse of highly treated wastewater effluent are attracting increased attention. They are
most-commonly provided for nonpotable end
uses; potable reuse is also gaining traction.
Commercial
Residential
Toilets
Shower
Handbasins
Shower and
baths
Toilets
Laundry
Drinking
Food and beverage
Cleaners sinks
Kitchen sinks
Kitchen and cleaning
Handbasins
Drinking and cooking
Figure 1: A comparison of typical daily water use is shown in commercial and residential buildings. This does not include irrigation or cooling water, as these are seasonal-based demands. All graphics courtesy: CJ Arms and Associates
24
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Many communities have begun to implement

simple and relatively inexpensive water-reuse
projects, such as irrigating golf courses and
parks, and the benefits of these are seen almost
immediately. Benefits from widespread adoption include improved reliability and drought
resistance of the water supply, utility savings in
infrastructure maintenance and deferred capital
expenses, and the immediate rewards of green
and lush outdoor recreation spaces.
There are also environmental advantages to
consider. The use of reclaimed water ensures
the transfer of nutrients to beneficial uses
rather than discharging them into receiving
waterways. Contamination of bays and lakes
with nutrient-rich stormwater and wastewater
increases the risk of eutrophication (excessively
high nutrient concentrations), the consequences
of which include low dissolved oxygen concentrations, algal blooms, and declining shellfish
populations and periodic fish kills.
Increased and more widespread use of
reclaimed water typically brings with it greater
financial, technical, and institutional challenges.
Upfront capital costs may be higher, but payback
on these water-reclamation systems may be realized sooner by building owners, depending on
the region. Regulators and citizens express concerns about the safety of using reclaimed water
for domestic purposes because of the perceived
risks and uncertainties. These challenges have
limited the application of water reuse in the past.
However, 21st-century technology exists to safely produce recycled and desalinated water at a
relatively low cost, which is highly dependent on
geographic location and local water resources.
Combined with the increased need to do so, we
should now be striving for new paradigms in
water supply and management.
Water efficiency, conservation
Significant reductions in water use can be

made by insisting that water-efficient fixtures
meet building code, instead of installing olderstyle high-flow units. These include water-efficient dual-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads,
low-flush urinals, flushless urinals, low-flow
faucets, and flow restrictors.
External landscaping with minimal water
requirements also promotes water savings. Landwww.csemag.com
Figure 2: This shows the 10th-storey combined greywater-treatment reed bed

and green roof, a double use of space.
Health care facility uses water wisely
he Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia, brings
together the citys leading biomedical scientists and public health practitioners working in infection and immunology research. It features world-class laboratory facilities
in conjunction with teaching and learning facilities and a number of sustainable watermanagement initiativesincluding low-flow fixtures and fittings, and flow controls.
Toilet and urinal flushing in the building is provided by the roofwater collection system, which
saves 264,000 gallons of water each year. The facilitys passive greywater treatment system
saves an additional 343,000 gallons of water annually. The greywater treatment system features
a vertical-flow vegetated reed bed (see Figure 2) and also provides a lush, landscaped green roof
that can be viewed from the 10th-storey executive boardroom.
This building was awarded a five-star Green Star building rating from the Green Building Council
of Australia, and the greywater treatment system is the first in the world to combine vertical-flow
greywater treatment with a green roof.
scaping can be designed with the use of droughttolerant species, garden mulch techniques that
minimize water losses, and subsurface irrigation
methods including automated irrigation systems
with rain and moisture sensors to ensure optimum application of irrigation water.
To understand where water savings can be
made, a detailed water-balance model of the
project should be carried out during the design
phase. This process will identify all possible
water savings by incorporating uncomplicated
water-efficiency strategies into the development
design. Using this approach, we have found that
the use of water-efficient fixtures and water-conservation design strategies can reduce an average
retail or commercial developments overall water
use by more than 40%, when compared with U.S.
Green Building Council LEED v4 baseline flows.
Identifying water-reuse opportunities
Significant
reductions in
water use can
be made by
insisting that
water-efficient
fixtures meet
building code.
Opportunities associated with the design and

installation of water-reuse systems will vary significantly from one building project to the next.
Analysis of the water-balance model at the outset
of the project will reveal any opportunities for
25
Codes & Standards

alternate water supply, water conservation, and water recycling. Water-balance
modeling will also reveal the availability
of rainwater and wastewater that could be
captured and treated for reuse.
All aspects of building operations that
involve water should be investigated and
potential sources of water identified. For
structure and treatment costs than rainwater collection and reuse, but they also
have the added advantage of year-round
water-source availabilityso they are
not reliant on seasonal rainfall patterns
and climate.
Supplying reclaimed water to nonpotable applications where the risk of human
More highly contaminated wastewater streams,

such as blackwater, require a higher degree of
treatment to make them fit for use. This process
will be more energy-intensive.
instance, condensate recovery from a
cooling system can be an excellent ongoing source of relatively high-quality reuse
water. Also, both internal and external
water sources should be considered.
Treatment infrastructure, which often
includes filtration and disinfection, will
be required to ensure water is of a suitable quality for its intended use. Relatively clean water sources, such as roofwater, are relatively straightforward to
collect and are suitable for nonpotable
use with little pretreatment. More highly
contaminated wastewater streams, such
as blackwater, require a higher degree of
treatment to make them fit for use. This
process will be more energy-intensive.
Blackwater and greywater recycling
methods usually have greater infra-
contact is very low can be an excellent

way of offsetting the consumption of
potable-water sources. For example, with
cooling tower water, the level of direct
human contact is minimal. However, to
reduce the risk of illness caused by airborne and waterborne pathogens, the
level of disinfection prior to reuse should
be in line with the risks involved. Nonpotable demands include toilet and urinal
flushing, irrigation, and cooling towers.
Potable demands include water for kitchen use, showers, and sinks It is important
to understand the relative proportions
of potable and nonpotable demand, and
this can be achieved through the waterbalancing process.
In office complexes, the amount of
water used for toilet and urinal flushing
is proportionally higher than the amount

used in showers. In apartment buildings,
the opposite is truewater used for bathing and showering exceeds the toiletflushing demand (see Figure 1).
Buildings and complexes with watercooled boilers or cooling towers for air
conditioning require large volumes of
water to feed these systems. Properties
with large gardens and lawns tend to use
a significant portion of their water budgets for outdoor irrigation.
The current level of public acceptance
and regulations in some areas mean little
opportunity for the use of harvested or
recycled water for potable use. To ensure
water reuse is an option, the engineer
must manage potential public health,
operational, and environmental risks
associated with the specific application.
The primary risks associated with the use
of reclaimed water are:
n Public health, which refers to inadvertent contact with the water and
subsequent ingestion of pathogens
and toxins, particularly relevant in
the health and immunocompromised sectors.
n Environmental, which refers to the
accumulation of contaminants in
irrigated soils and plants or detrimental hydrological effects as a
result of water extraction.
Table 1: Definitions of water streams

Water stream
Potable water
Definition
Also referred to as drinking water or domestic water. A stream of high-quality water, which is provided
at a cost per unit volume of water used by the utility provider.
Rainwater
All rainfall runoff from a given catchment. The combination of both roofwater and stormwater.
Roofwater
Water collected from the hard surfaces of roofs. Roofwater is relatively straightforward to collect and is
suitable for nonpotable use with little pretreatment.
Stormwater
Water collected from ground-level hardstands. It is generally more contaminated than roofwater, not
only because of its contact with the surfaces of roads and parking lots or decks (e.g., wear and tear of
tires, oil, and grease) but also because stormwater drains to the lowest point, which is where dust and
litter settles.
Greywater
Usually a high-volume, relatively low-contamination wastewater stream from showers and sinks and
laundries (does not include wastewater from toilets and urinals).
Blackwater
This represents the most highly contaminated wastewater stream from toilets, urinals, and kitchens.
Blackwater can also mean the entire wastewater stream leaving a development (blackwater and
greywater combined).
Courtesy: CJ Arms and Associates
26
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trends and technologies while earning
CEU credits.
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Codes & Standards

Availability, which is dependent
on rainfall patterns and catchment
activities, sizing of treatment plants
and buffer tanks, and maintenance
schedules and equipment downtime.
Operational, such as potential clogging and fouling of distribution
systems and mechanical equipment
with suspended and precipitated solids, and staining of toilet bowls.
Given the different treatment requirements of the various rainwater and wastewater sources and the potentially different
end-use water qualities required, a detailed
water-balance and feasibility assessment
should be undertaken in all system designs.
Water balance and feasibility
A water balance is used to quantify both

the reuse demands and the potential reuse
supplies, as well as the timing of those supplies, to marry the two in the most economic and practical way.
Areal rates (water use per area) established throughout the industry for various
building types and climatic regions are
commonly used to establish water usage in
a building. Unfortunately, these rates often
do not take into account the real use of
the buildings, which can drastically impact
the actual water demands. The majority of water use in a building is actually
dependent on population and occupancy
profile, rather than the area of the building. About half the buildings water use is
associated with heating and cooling, which
also is highly dependent on population, as
a large portion of heat rejection is due to
heat generated from computer terminals.
A far more practical approach is to
consider the actual population and how
the proposed building will be used, and
Figure 3: The universitys

stormwater treatment
system supplies cooling
tower demands.
Stormwater system feeds cooling towers

At a major university campus in Bundoora, Australia, designers took advantage of a large stormwater
drainage system (the moat) that wound through the site and was fed by a large catchment upstream.
The project was supported through the help of government funding through the Office of Living Victoria.
The project included an open-water wetland to improve the quality of the water moving through the
site, with extraction and treatment (screening, microfiltration, disinfection, and storage) taking place
prior to distribution and reuse in the five largest cooling towers on campus (see Figure 3). This project
is saving approximately 4.4 million gallons of potable water each year.
28
design accordingly. First, it is necessary

to establish the occupancy for a building:
Occupancy represents the population, how
that population varies with time, and how
that population uses water in the building. Does the building population change
throughout the day or year? Do the workers spend most of their day in the building?
How do they use water in the building? Is
the building in operation 7 days a week
or only during weekdays? Does the building receive many visitors? How long do
the visitors stay, and are they likely to use
the restrooms? There may be a number of
different population profiles for the one
building, and each one should be modeled.
The timing of that water production
and water usage is also important. For
example, while the annual volume of
rainfall falling on a site often can meet a
specific reuse demand, in temperate climates the mismatch between the timing
of the rainfallwhich occurs mostly in
winterand irrigation or cooling tower
demandswhich are highest in summer
can lead to unfeasibly large tank storages
and long storage times that encourage
microbial growth to optimize the reuse
volume. Similar pitfalls apply to working
with monthly data; it is critical to model
the water balance using daily data.
Once the populations and building
uses are established, they can be used to
generate daily water-use patterns through
knowledge of fixtures and fittings in the
building and corresponding flow rates. For
each population set, the number of urinal
or toilet flushes, sink uses and duration,
shower uses and duration, and consumption can be calculated. Other uses
including irrigation, mechanical plant
operation (i.e., cooling towers, chillers, and
boilers), cleaning, kitchen, washdown, and
laundryare also included as appropriate. Knowledge of the water use in all these
areas allows an analysis of both the greatest
demands for reused water and where the
greatest water savings can be made.
Identification and analysis of available
source water for the reuse supply is then
undertaken. The volumes of greywater
and blackwater available for treatment
and reuse are derived directly from the
www.csemag.com
water balance. Rain- The Uniform Plumbing is a major risk unless

water, roofwater, and
relevant standards and
Code and the
stormwater are modeled
codes are followed.
based on daily historical
It should be noted
International Plumbing
data, catchment area,
that in the United
tanks size, and identiStates, regulations
Code are the two
fied reuse demand. The
with regard to water
main plumbing codes r e c l a m a t i o n a n d
optimum tank sizing is
approached in an iterareuse vary from state
in use within the
tive manner by varying
to state. The relevant
United States.
tank size and analyzstate departments for
ing the reuse potential
environment, water
(reuse volume and percentage of days that quality, and public health should also
source water is available when required).
be consulted with regard to applicable
Groundwater is modeled based on pre- regulations.
dicted extraction flows from an appropriThe Uniform Plumbing Code, produced
ate hydrogeological study. Consideration by the International Association of Plumbshould also be given to water sources ing and Mechanical Officials, and the
external to the site, such as a large roof International Plumbing Code, produced
catchment on an adjacent site. While this by the International Code Council, are the
can complicate the situation from a regula- two main plumbing codes in use within
tory point of view, opportunities may exist the United States. The American Society
that provide some synergies.
of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) also assists
ANSI in the development of relevant standards in relation to water reuse.
Overall water-management strategy
Other organizations including the
An overall strategy is then developed
based on matching quantities of demands American Water Works Association,
and potential reuse supplies. The strat- WateReuse Association, Water Quality
egy generally incorporates an integrated Association, and NSF International also
approach for deploying water-use reduc- provide a range of manuals, guidelines,
tion along with various reuse schemes. and product certifications in relation to
Engineers should search for innovative water reclamation and reuse.
Related standards include:
synergies and double or triple the use of
space, resources, or functionsfor exam American Rainwater Catchment
ple, using a landscaped area for a water
Systems Association (ARCSA)/
treatment zone.
ASPE/ANSI 63-2013: Rainwater
In all cases, an economic evaluation
Catchment Systems
of the proposed solution would be performed to ensure appropriate strategies
ARCSA/ASPE/ANSI 78: Stormwaare being implemented. While often the
ter Harvesting System Design for
true value of water (the value when no
Direct End-Use Applications
water is available) is not considered, the
economic evaluation will enable the more
NSF/ANSI 350: Onsite Water Reuse
cost-effective sources of reuse water to be
identified and implemented.
NSF/ANSI 350-1: Onsite Residential and Commercial Greywater
Codes and standards
Treatment Systems.
Water-management and -reuse strategies are subject to local, state, and federal
laws as well as codes and standards, and Peter Harbour is a senior scientist at
should be developed in consultation with CJ Arms and Associates.
all relevant stakeholders. Cross-connecting Robyn Overall is water sustainability
reuse water supplies with potable supplies scientist at CJ Arms and Associates.
."3$)t$POTVMUJOH4QFDJGZJOH&OHJOFFS
29
How to design safe, reliable

fire pump power service
The codes that govern the power supply to the fire pump, as well as
conversations with the local authority having jurisdiction, determine the
best solution for a buildings fire pump power system design.
BY SARAH KUCHERA, PE, LEED AP, WSP + ccrd, Dallas
Learning
objectives
Illustrate the basic design
of fire pumps and their power
systems.
Examine the codes and
standards that dictate fire
pump power system design.
Explain best practices by
reviewing example designs.
s with all life safety systems, maintaining power

to the key elements of a
building in the event of
an emergency is vital to
the safety of the building and its occupants. For buildings that do not have
an adequate supply pressure from the
incoming water source, the fire pump is
critical in that protection. Consideration
of the power supply to the fire pump and
its accessories is based on an evaluation
of the codes that govern its installation
as well as conversations with the local
authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) to
determine the best solution for the buildings particular design.
In the event of a fire, it is not unusual
for first responders to disconnect the
main power supply to the building, especially if there is a risk that the source of
the fire may be from the electrical system. It is important that the AHJ and
the building operator have a clear understanding of how the fire protection system is powered so that the power supply
to the fire pump is not inadvertently disconnected. With proper understanding
of the codes and good design practice,
engineers can ensure the design will
provide a reliable source of power for a
buildings fire protection systems.
Fire pump intent
The fire pump plays a critical role in

providing for a safe environment, and
30
how it is powered is an important consideration of the design. A reliable source,

backup power supply, protected feeders,
and properly sized overcurrent protection
are the keys to a successful installation.
Keeping the fire pump operational
throughout the entire emergency event
is the most important goal of each design.
This is even more important than protecting the equipment from harm. If the
fire pump fails to perform its intended
duty, the building and its occupants will
be at great risk.
Codes that apply
Multiple codes apply when it comes to

powering fire pumps. Two are primary
references: NFPA 70: National Electrical
Code (NEC) Article 695 (fire pumps),
and NFPA 20: Standard for the Installation of Stationary Pumps for Fire Protection. The NEC has responsibility for
the electrical installation of these systems
whereas NFPA 20 holds responsibility for
the performance of the system. Other
articles of the NEC and other NFPA sections offer guidance on emergency power
systems and building requirements for
fire protections systems.
A reliable power source is necessary
for proper fire pump installation. The
reliability of a utility service feed for
a fire pump will be determined by the
local AHJ. Also, depending on the type
of building, occupancy type, and the
building operator, the method for serving
www.csemag.com
Figure 1: At the Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children in Birmingham, Ala., the power feed to the fire pump was carefully
designed to provide maximum reliability for this critical facility. The primary feed came via a protected feeder from the mediumvoltage service and the emergency power feed was provided from the campus medium-voltage emergency power distribution
system. All graphics courtesy: WSP + ccrd
the power to the fire protection systems

should be considered as a part of their
overall fire-response plan.
As defined by NFPA 20, the following
items should be considered to determine
if the source is reliable:
The source power plant has not
been shut down for more than 4
continuous hours within the past
year.
There have been no routine power
outages in the area that have
occurred within the past year.
The building cannot be served by
an overhead utility line. The overwww.csemag.com
head service line will become a risk

because fire department personnel
will not work around energized
lines. If this overhead line is the
source of power, it will become disconnected while fighting the fire and
render the fire pump inoperable.
If the utility source is determined to be
unreliable, then multiple sources will be
needed for the installation.
Single-source power
A single power-supply source for a

fire pump can be provided from either
a reliable utility supply or from onsite
power production. The important consideration for a single supply service is
that the incoming supply power is not

interrupted. Therefore, special consideration should be given to how the service
enters into the fire pump controller and
what disconnecting means are located
upstream from the pump.
If a utility power connection is used,
there are two methods that can provide
power to the fire pump:
1. The first method is a direct connection from the utility source where
a power feed is brought straight from
the utility into the fire pump controller
with no interruptions. This feed is then
treated as a service entrance and needs to
meet all of the code-required functions
as defined by NEC Article 230 (services).
31
Cover story: fire pump power

2. The second method is a tap ahead
of the service main disconnecting means.
When using this method, the following
items should be considered.
n The service feeders shall terminate
in a dedicated cabinet or vertical
switchboard section located ahead
of and not within the same cabinet
as the disconnecting means.
n The service feeder shall be in a
location separate from the fire
pump so as to minimize the risk
of damage to the fire pump in the
event of a fire at the main service
area.
If onsite power production is available
to the building, it can be considered as a
service to the fire pump if it is deemed
reliable and meets the fire protection
requirements as outlined in NFPA 850:

Recommended Practice for Fire Protection for Electric Generating Plants and
High Voltage Direct Current Converter
Stations.
With a single source of power to the
pump, if the source that is providing power
to the building fails, then a fire watch or
other approved procedure needs to be put
in place to verify that the building and its
occupants are not put into harms way.
this may be an acceptable method.

The local AHJ would need to determine if the combination of these
two services would then be considered reliable.
n Another option is to have a backup
engine- or steam-driven fire pump.
n Most commonly, the second source
is an onsite generator to supply the
secondary source of power to the
fire pump.
Multiple sources of power
When the single supply source is

deemed unreliable, you then need to
provide multiple supply sources. The
NEC allows for several options for this
type of supply:
n Combine two individual sources.
If the site has access to two utility
feeds from different substations,
Generator service
Whereas a primary supply source is

arranged to allow for the fire pump to
run under any adverse situation, this
is not the case with the supply source
from the generator. When a generator
provides the secondary supply source to
the fire pump, it is important to arrange
Figure 2: Power feed to the fire pump is shown via a direct connection from a utility transformer.
Electrical fire pump with emergency generator
he buildings normal power service is supplied from a pad-mounted

utility transformer that is fed by a singular utility substation. The
authority having jurisdiction has deemed that the single utility service
is not considered a reliable source, so it cannot be the only supply source
for the fire pump. An onsite generator must provide the secondary source of
power for the fire pump. The service to the fire pump will need to meet the
requirements as defined by NFPA 70: National Electrical Code (NEC) 695.3(B)
(2) for service from an individual source and onsite standby generator.
The primary supply to the fire pump controller will come directly from a
connection at the utility transformer. This was coordinated with the utility
company; most will allow for this separate connection to be tapped at the
32
transformer. This meets the requirement for continuity of power as defined by

NEC 695.4(A) (direct connection). The feeder from the switchgear to the fire
pump controller (located in a different area) will be routed below the building floor slab so that it is considered outside the building per NEC 230.6(1).
The second source for the fire pump will come from the emergency power
system for the building. The buildings generator system will be sized to
handle the starting and normal operating load of the fire pump as defined by
NED 695.3(D)(1). A circuit breaker, sized to accommodate normal start-up of
the pump, will be located in the emergency distribution board. The second
feeder will route overhead to the fire pump controller and be encased in a
minimum of 2 in. of concrete.
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the connection to the fire pump so that

any fault or malfunction of the pump
does not interrupt service from the
emergency generator to the other life
safety loads within the building. The
code does not require that the generator is able to carry the locked-rotor current indefinitely, as is the case with the
primary source. If a fault would occur at
the fire pump, it could take out the gen-
erator and lose other life safety functions like lighting.

When designing the generator service
to the fire pump, the following items
should be considered:
n The size of the generator shall be
capable of carrying the normal
starting and operation of the fire
pump, jockey pump, and other
accessory loads. The generator is

able to automatically shed nonessential loads to make room for the
fire pump capacity.
n If the fire pump is the majority
of the load on the generator, the
designer should review the generator characteristics so that it can
support the starting of the pump.
Figure 3: Power feed to the fire pump as a part of a campus-style distribution is shown with the feed ahead of the service
disconnection means.
Campus-style distribution with differing voltages
n this example, the design team is working

with multiple buildings, with each having an
individual power feed from a 15-kV feeder loop
around the campus. The 15-kV service is derived
from the utility at a central energy plant and then
feeds the 15-kV loop. Each building has a substation that transforms the power down to 480 V for
distribution within the building. Each building also
has a dedicated 480 V fire pump to support its
sprinkler system.
The difficulty with this arrangement is that the
fire pump and service entrance voltages are not
the same. This prevents a direct connection to the
fire pump. Thus, the designer will need to transform power to the pump utilization voltage, which
can introduce overcurrent protection devices and
disconnecting means. How these are configured
and sized must meet the requirements of NFPA 70:
National Electrical Code (NEC) 695.4(B).
When feeding through a transformer, the electrical engineer needs to design to the requirements
of NEC 695.5. The normal power feed from the
substation needs to include 125% of the load of
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the fire pump and its accessories in the calculation for the transformer. A transformers primary
overcurrent protection device should be capable of
carrying the locked rotor amps of the fire pump and
accessories, and a secondary overcurrent protection device downstream of the transformer should
not be included for the fire pump feed. This will
allow the fire pump to continue running and keep
the fire protection system operational to protect
the building and its occupants. Here are some key
items to consider with this arrangement:
n The overcurrent protection device should
be sized to carry the lock-rotor current of
the pump and its accessories indefinitely,
as this is the primary source of power. This
pump should continue running even during
adverse conditions.
n The overcurrent protection device serving the
fire pump shall be selectively coordinated with
the other devices to prevent a fault elsewhere in
the system that would disable the fire pump.
n All disconnecting means serving the fire

pump and its accessories shall be clearly
identified to prevent inadvertent disconnection of the power source.
n Consideration should be given to the routing
of the feeders so they are protected from
physical harm or damage by fire.
The feeder from the switchgear to the fire pump
controller (located in a different room) will be
routed overhead and encased with 2 in. of concrete
so that it is considered outside the building per
NEC 230.6(2).
If the building is supported by a 15-kV distribution loop that is an A/B-type arrangement fed
from separate utility substations, the designer
could provide two feeds to the fire pump from this
loop; one from each of the services as defined by
NEC 695.3(C)(1). This should be coordinated with
the authority having jurisdiction to validate that
these two sources would then be considered as
a reliable source.
33
Cover story: fire pump power

rotor current indefinitely. This is different than sizing characteristics for
another type of pump and will result
in a much larger breaker rating.
n A variable frequency drive (VFD)

can be provided on the fire pump
as a tool to regulate different
incoming water pressures (for
example, pulling from a tank and
a city supply line). The size of the
generator should still be able to
account for full start-up of the fire
pump in the event the VFD goes
into bypass.
n When providing the secondary
supply from the generator, you may
have a disconnecting means located
ahead of the fire pump. This is in
place to automatically disconnect
the fire pump if an adverse condition would jeopardize the emergency power system.
n The disconnecting means shall be

supervised to alert personnel if the
device is opened.
n Overcurrent protection is provided
as a part of a listed assembly for fire
pump service.
The disconnecting means for the fire
pump should be clearly identified to
prevent the inadvertent disconnecting
of that supply source. It should also be
located separately so that in the event
of a fire, multiple supply sources are
a protected system with a minimum of

2-hour fire protection. It also is important to segregate the power wiring that
serves the fire pump and its accessories
from other loads so a failure in another
feeder would not induce harm to the
fire pump feed.
The sizing criteria for the feeder supplying the fire pump are provided by
NEC Article 695 (fire pumps), which
indicates that the minimum size is
125% of the sum of the full-load amps
of the fire pump and pressure maintenance pumps plus 100% of the remaining accessory equipment. Installation,
voltage drop, and other derating factors
should be considered when determining
the final selected wire size.
Grounding
It is important to note that the code

does allow for overcurrent protection on the
emergency power feed.
n The arrangement of equipment and
feeders should be oriented such
that a fire at one source would not
impact the other source.
n A transfer switch listed for fire
pump service shall be provided and
located in the same room as the fire
pump.
Overcurrent protection and
disconnecting means
The best method for delivering a primary power supply source to a fire pump is
by direct connection to the power source.
With a utility transformer serving the
building, a direct connection from that
transformer with no disconnecting means
will provide a high level of reliability and
minimize the potential for inadvertent disconnection of the supply feeder. If a disconnecting means is needed, the following
should be considered:
n Overcurrent protection shall be
sized to carry the pumps locked-
34
not disabled, rendering the fire pump

inoperable.
Again, it is important to note that the
code does allow for overcurrent protection on the emergency power feed and
it does not require that it be sized for
locked-rotor current.
Wiring methods
It is important for the electrical engineer to design the feeder system delivering that power to be protected against
harm or damage. Keep in mind: If the
fire pump is operating, there is most
likely a fire within the building. Thus,
protecting the feeder from harm by the
fire is important to ensure the building
does not lose power to the pump that is
protecting it and its occupants.
The method of protection is similar
to that spelled out in NEC Article 230
(services), which requires a feeder to
be routed outside of the building or
to provide an equivalency of protection against harm. This can be accomplished through concrete encasement or
Grounding for the fire pump feed is

dependent upon what method of connection is used. If the system is designed
with a single source and the power is
essentially being treated as a service,
include a grounding electrode conductor as sized per NEC Table 250.66
and based upon the size of the incoming ungrounded conductor. If there is
a secondary source, like a feed from a
generator, this is treated like a feeder;
provide an equipment-grounding conductor sized per NEC Table 250.122.
The fire pump power feed is a critical item to consider as a part of the
overall design. Consideration for this
should be done when determining the
systems that will be used to serve the
normal and emergency power supply to
the building. Engaging the local AHJ as
well as the building operator in the key
design decisions is important to ensure
a safe and operable fire protection system for the building.
Sarah Kuchera is senior vice president
and electrical engineer at WSP + ccrd. Her
duties have included project management,
production coordination, and project engineering on a variety of different projects
including hospital, retail, hospitality, and
office buildings.
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Emergency egress
and illumination systems
Understanding the basic characteristics of emergency egress and
illumination systems provides engineers with the knowledge to optimize
lifecycle and emergency evacuation performance.
BY MARK BUDZINSKI, PE, AIA, CBO, Arup, Los Angeles
Learning
objectives
Outline the key characteristics of
emergency illumination systems.
Compare the key characteristics
of electrically powered, selfluminous and photoluminescent
exit signs.
Summarize the basic principles
of photoluminescence employed in
egress devices.
uring a fire, emergency

egress and illumination
systems can make the difference between life and
death. Effective design,
specification, and lifecycle management
can optimize the lifespan effectiveness
of these life safety systems and enhance
their performance during evacuation.
A basic understanding of their various
performance characteristics is warranted.
Engineers are constantly challenged

to effectively integrate these complexities. In addition to the increasing complexity of life safety systems, the continual development of new codes and
standards warrants careful consideration on the part of engineers to assess
the ability of facility operators to effectively manage the specified systems. It is
not uncommon for design and consulting engineers to have little to no understanding of the issues facility managers
inherit when they assume responsibility
for the long-term care of these fire life
safety systems.
Codes and standards
Figure 1: Self-luminous tritium exit

signs like this one require no external
electrical input or external light source
for charging, making them useful in an
emergency situation. Courtesy: Arup
36
The proliferation of complexity in life

safety systems requires a high level of
technical literacy to ensure they can be
relied upon for the duration of the buildings lifecycle. Similarly, as aging building stock is retrofitted, engineers must
exercise good judgment when assessing
existing building conditions and reconciling various existing and new construction requirements related to emergency
egress and illumination systems.
UL is the key organization that validates products for emergency egress

signage and illumination equipment in
jurisdictions that adopt the International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 101:
Life Safety Code. The technical standard
for these systems is UL 924, Emergency
Lighting and Power Equipment. UL 924
applies to emergency lighting and power
equipment for use in unclassified locations and intended for connection to
branch circuits of 600 V or less.
This equipment is intended to automatically supply illumination or power
or both to critical areas and equipment in
the event of failure of the normal power
supply in accordance with the NFPA 70:
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National Electrical Code (NEC), NFPA

101, NFPA 1: Fire Code, the IBC, and the
International Fire Code (IFC).
Examples of equipment addressed in
UL 924 includes:
Exit signs
Emergency lighting
Unit equipment
Central-station battery banks
Inverters
Automatic battery charging and
control equipment
Automatic load-control relays
Derangement signal equipment.
Electrically powered exit signs and unit

equipment are required to be fed from the same
circuit that provides normal power to lighting.
Exit signage
Where the path of egress travel is not

immediately visible to occupants, readily
visible exit signs are required to clearly
indicate the direction of egress travel
to exits and within exits. Exit signs to
identify exits are required to be readily
visible in the direction of egress travel
and, with a few exceptions, are required
to be placed in corridors or exit passageways such that no point exceeds 100
ft from and exit sign or the signs listed
viewing distance, whichever is less. Note
that some jurisdictions require different
mounting heights or colors for the exit
signs. In addition, local code may require
the word exit to be a specific size.
Electrically powered, self-luminous,
and photoluminescent exit signs are classified as internally illuminated exit signs
and are required to be illuminated at all
times. They are required to be listed and
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labeled in accordance with UL 924 and

installed in accordance with the manufacturers instructions and IBC Chapter 27.
Electrically powered exit signs and unit
equipment are required to be fed from the
same circuit that provides normal power
to lighting in the area served and connected ahead of any local switches. This
requirement is intended to ensure that
these emergency systems operate in the
affected area upon loss of power. NFPA 70
permits a separate branch circuit for unit
equipment if it originates from the same
Figure 2: This illustrates spacing of exit

signs in a circulation aisle within an
office space. Courtesy: Arup
37
Emergency egress, illumination systems

n Stair enclosures
panelboard as that of the normal lighting

circuits, is provided with a lock-on feature,
and the location is in a separate and uninterrupted area supplied by a minimum of
three normal lighting circuits that are not
part of a multiwire branch circuit.
n Exterior landings
n Exterior egress components at
other than the level of exit discharge in buildings required to
have two or more exits.
Emergency illumination
The means of egress including the exit

discharge is required to be illuminated
at all times the building is occupied. The
minimum duration for emergency egress
illumination is 90 minutes.
The following locations require emergency illumination:
The following sources of power are

suitable for emergency illumination:
n Aisles
n Onsite generator
n Storage batteries
n Unit equipment.
Although 90 minutes is the required

minimum duration for emergency
egress illumination, self-contained
n Exit passageways
emergency lights
are available
with durations in
excess of 90 minutes. These units
may be a desirable specification
option in buildings w here t he
potential exists for
evacuation times
to exceed 90 minutes.
The IB C requ i re s a m i n i mum of 1 fc (11
lux) at the floor
level (means-ofegress illumination in IBC 1006).
Emergency egress
i l lu m i n at i on i s
re qu i re d to b e
prov i d e d for a
minimum duration of 90 minutes.
Illumination levels
are permitted to
decline to 0.6 fc
(6 lux) at the end
of the emergenFigure 3: Hallways in office buildings must be clearly marked
cy lighting time
with exit signage for stairs and elevators. Courtesy: CFE Media
n Corridors
38
duration. A maximum-to-minimum
illumination uniformity ratio of 40:1
shall not be exceeded.
Reliability provisions in the NEC
require emergency lighting systems to
be designed and installed so that the
failure of any individual lighting element, such as the burning out of a lamp,
cannot leave a space in total darkness.
Self-luminous tritium exit signs
Photoluminescence is the spontaneous emission of light from a material

under optical excitation. Self-luminous
and photoluminescent exit signs rely
on the principle of photoluminescence. When light of sufficient energy
is incident on a material, photons are
absorbed and electronic excitations are
created. When these excitations relax,
electrons return to their ground state.
Self-luminous tritium exit signs
require no external electrical input or
external light source for charging. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that decays by emitting an electron
called a beta particle. Tritium signs rely
on the process of radioluminescence,
whereby emitted electrons impact a
phosphor layer within the exit sign and
release photons in the visible spectrum.
Although beta particle radiation can
be easily shielded by thin material such
as paper, tritium can enter the body
through the skin or open wounds. The
main hazard associated with tritium is
internal exposure from inhalation or
ingestion.
Tritium exit signs should always be
handled by qualified personnel who are
knowledgeable about the unique characteristics and requirements of these
devices. Although ingestion of a tritium dose capable of causing significant
harm is unlikely, damaged exit signs
should not be handled with bare hands
and areas where tritium exit signs are
stored should be ventilated.
The half-life of tritium is 12.3 years.
As the excitation intensity decreases
due to decay of the tritium source, the
density of photoexcited electrons will
decrease. Excitation intensity influences
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the quality of emitted light. Accordingly, tritium exit signs are labeled with a
rating life that indicates the expiration
date of the sign.
These signs are typically rated for
a 10-year luminous life and must be
replaced and disposed of in accordance
with requirements of the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) or
Agreement State applied to the generally licensed device.
Although self-luminous exit signs with
ratings in excess of 10 years are available, in practice they are rarely specified.
Accordingly, the specification of selfluminous exit signs has inherent deferred
capital-improvement costs associated
with disposal of the expired signs and
their replacement with new equipment.
Tritium exit signs should be labeled
and dated to indicate the expiration of
the rating. They can be identified by

labeling on the side, edge, or back of the
sign that includes a magenta and yellow
radioactive symbol and CAUTION:
RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL; an NRC
sticker, and the manufacturers NRC
license and contact information.
To dispose of a sign properly, a general
licensee must transfer the sign to a specific licenseesuch as a manufacturer,
distributor, licensed radioactive waste
broker, or licensed low-level radioactive
waste disposal facility. Within 30 days of
disposing of a sign, the general licensee
must file a report to the NRC or Agreement State.
Notably, tritium exit signs are prohibited for use by the U.S. Department
of Defense, some municipalities, and
numerous college campuses.
Performance-based design
considerations
The conditions in which emergency

egress and illumination systems are
tested may not replicate installed field
conditions. Design engineers should be
aware that the test conditions of emergency egress and illumination equipment may not conform to their expected
performance:
n Testing conditions of exit signs
assume the occupant is in total
darkness for a minimum of 5
minutes prior to the test.
n Exit signs are tested in a clear
atmosphere at heights that are
lower than typical installations.
n Although exit signs are typically mounted at a height of 7 ft or
more, performance-based designs
often assume the smoke layer may
descend to 6 ft.
Figure 4: This shows a combination of a

notification system, exit sign, and lighting that automatically becomes emergency illumination in the event of a fire
or other emergency. The exit sign notes
the direction to the exit. Courtesy:
CFE Media
40
Smoke has obscured exit signage in

numerous catastrophic fires. The obscuring and irritating effects of smoke decrease
visibility and can reduce the efficiency and
speed of escape by slowing movement and
impairing decision making.
In 2003, the Station Nightclub Fire

in West Warwick, R.I., resulted in 100
deaths and more than 180 injuries.
Smoke obscuration of exit signs from
rapid fire development contributed to
some of the casualties.
Although deaths caused by exposure
to toxic smoke products in fire incidents
are well-documented, visibility impairments due to the production of relatively
thin smoke in the early stages of fire also
have contributed to fatalities.
A lt houg h de cre as e d movement
speeds due to the presence of smoke
and degradations in lighting quality
are recognized in research literature,
perhaps they are less understood than
the widely obser ved reductions in
movement speed due to crowd density,
mobility, and age.
Under normal conditions, average
movement speeds generally range from
approximately 1.74 ft/second to 3.28
ft/second. In smoke environments,
numerous research studies have demonstrated that the following features
provide measurable improvements in
egress wayfinding:
n Pictorial exit signs
n Flashing exit signs
n Floor-proximity exit signs
n Flashing rows of lights at the
floor level.
Installation
Unit equipment is often shipped without the backup battery connected to the
power circuit supplying the emergency
lamps. In this condition, the unit equipment would fail to energize upon loss of
normal power.
The locations selected for emergency egress and illumination equipment
should consider the long-term inspection
and maintenance serviceability of the
equipment. Equipment placements that
require special equipment, such as lifts
and ladders, or present unusual access
difficulties should be avoided.
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Inspection, testing, and maintenance
Effective asset management of emergency egress and illumination systems

requires periodic inspection, testing,
and maintenance. The degree of due diligence applied to the inspection, testing,
and maintenance of emergency egress
lifespan, the signs will not function

upon loss of power.
UL 924 requires equipment incorporating batteries and battery-charging
means to provide audible or illuminated
visible indicator(s) that change status
and are detectable to facility staff with-
The NEC requires a means for testing all

emergency lighting and power systems during
the maximum anticipated load conditions.
and illumination systems varies widely
within jurisdictions and institutions.
These variations can have significant
impacts on system performance. Upon
installation, and periodically thereafter, the authority having jurisdiction is
required to conduct or witness a test of
the complete system.
Testing and maintenance of emergency
egress and illumination systems is prescribed by:
out the need to adjust or remove any

equipment covers or parts, under any
of the following conditions:
n Disconnection of the battery
power source
n The battery is actively supplying
a remote load.
n The battery charger is not receiving
its intended charging voltage or has
experienced an internal charging
failure.
n IFC
n NEC
n For self-testing/self-diagnostic
equipment, detection of a nonfunctional feature during self-testing/
self-diagnostic routine.
n NFPA 110: Standard for Emergency

and Standby Power Systems
n NFPA 111: Standard on Stored
Electrical Energy Emergency and
Standby Power Systems.
The NEC requires a means for testing
all emergency lighting and power systems during the maximum anticipated
load conditions. Systems are required
to be tested periodically on a schedule
acceptable to the authorities having
jurisdiction (AHJ). A written record of
such tests and maintenance is required.
Where battery systems or unit equipment are installed, including batteries
used for starting, control, or ignition
in auxiliary engines, the AHJ requires
periodic maintenance. The typical lifespan of maintenance-free batteries is 5 to
7 years. Without timely replacement of
these batteries before the end of their
42
Energy-management systems
Because energy-management systems

have the potential to undermine the
continual external light source requirement for photoluminescent exit signs,
their application should be carefully
considered. Photoluminescent exit signs
require a minimum 5-fc external illumination at all times the building is occupied to charge the exit signs adequately
to meet the 90-minute visibility requirement in the event of a power failure.
A hypothetical scenario is a building
with lighting systems that are powered
up by energy-management systems
shortly before the facility is occupied.
Within the first 60 minutes of exposure, the photoluminescent exit sign
would not be expected to be adequately
charged by an external light source and

would likely not be visible for 90 minutes.
NEC requires dimmer or relay systems used in emergency lighting circuits to be listed for use in emergency
systems. Plus, branch circuits must be
installed in accordance with the wiring methods of Article 700 (emergency
systems).
Similarly, a photoluminescent sign
situated within a corridor or space with
a motion-sensor-activated light source
may not adequately charge the photoluminescent sign to provide the expected
duration of visibility during evacuation.
In the case of emergency egress and
illumination systems, the lifespan of
some of these systems can be as low as 5
years. There are long-term adverse consequences to specifying equipment with
exceedingly low lifespans or designing
these systems without an appreciation
for their overall performance requirements.
Decisions to reduce the initial cost of
fire life safety systems results in higher
deferred costs and larger capital reserve
requirements. Additionally, the specification of lower-quality systems with
lower projected lifespans places higher
demands on facility managers to maintain and ultimately manage their disposal and replacement. In cases where the
complexity of the systems or demands
for maintenance exceed the facility managers ability to meet them, degradations
of life safety performance can go unnoticed for yearsuntil the performance
of these systems fails the occupants
whose lives depend on them.
Mark Budzinski is a senior fire engineer
at Arup. He has more than 20 years of progressive international design, consulting,
and engineering experience. He has led
multidisciplinary fire-engineering teams
in the design of fire and life safety systems
for numerous large-scale mission critical
facilities and supertall buildings. Budzinski is a voting member of standard technical panel UL 924.
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Consulting-Specifying Engineer MARCH

MONTH 2016
2/24/2014 10:18:04 AM
www.csemag.com
Digital Edition
Exclusive Content
Visit www.csemag.com/digitaledition for exclusive content and for
more technical feature articles. The digital edition includes tabletfriendly viewing (HTML5), headlines linking to longer versions, and
an emailed link as soon as its ready.
DE-1

With smarter application and availability of technology to achieve and drive longer-term performance results, commissioning providers (CxPs) are
finding themselves at the forefront to learn, coach,
and lead the application of technology in the built
environment. Learn the challenges, roles, opportunities, and recommended methods for incorporating technology solutions into the commissioning
process and improving building performance.
BY MICHAEL CHIMACK, PE, CEM; and
JESSE SYCURO, PE, CEM
Go to www.csemag.com/careersmart for
Career Smart columns and education, including:
Begin as you mean to carry on
Lead your engineering firm into the future
How to spot and tap emerging trends
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Six ways to develop high-performance teams
Webcast: How to thrive in the non-traditional engineering work world
What employers want
Expand responsibilities with business development.
www.csemag.com
45

With smarter application and availability of technology to achieve and drive
longer-term performance results, commissioning providers (CxPs) are finding
themselves at the forefront to learn, coach, and lead the application of technology in the built environment. Learn the challenges, roles, opportunities,
and recommended methods for incorporating technology solutions into the
commissioning process and improving building performance.
BY MICHAEL CHIMACK, PE, CEM, Siemens Building Technologies, Buffalo Grove, Ill.; and
JESSE SYCURO, PE, CEM, McKinstry, Seattle
Learning objectives
Demonstrate how technology is
affecting the commissioning marketplace.
Show how commissioning providers (CxPs) can leverage technology
to increase business and offer their
customers a more comprehensive
building performance solution.
Apply commissioning (Cx) best
practices to technology-driven commissioning applications.
Navigate technology challenges and
opportunities in the built environment
through the commissioning process.
DE-1
uilding technology solutions

are accelerating at an exponential pace, rapidly changing the building industry. The
challenges at this nexus are to
keep up with innovations and be able to
marry technology solution capabilities
with appropriate and successful implementation for building owners and managers. Commissioning providers (CxPs)
are jumping into this technical evolution to ensure building owners project
requirements are fulfilled.
The impact of technology on the commissioning profession is dramatic. Technology applications provide platforms
for multilevel data gathering, analytics,
performance assessment, and problem
identification, and allow project teams
to reach consensus faster. Although there
is not yet an all-in-one commissioning
technology solution, a host of available
technology applications are available
today that can acquire real-time building and systems performance data, test
for various conditions, simulate seasonal
performance, and provide monitoringbased commissioning (MBCx) over time.
Market challenges
This technology-based commissioning market is in its infancy. The buildingfocused technology bubble has created
a multitude of technologies rushing into
the market at a high rate of speed, adoption, and consequent confusion. Data,
analytics, and business intelligence solutions are viable and available; yet, with
myriad applications, they are not easily integrated. Like the dot.com bubble,
there are currently no gatekeepers or
metrics for building technology solutions
that deliver what owners intend, except
through the process of commissioning.
Challenges include:
Best practice gaps. Professionals
with diverse backgroundsfrom engineering consultants to systems integrators and architectsare jumping
on the bandwagon without the necessary knowledge, skills, or experience to
understand the best practices for technology applications, or the best use of
data they acquire. There are more players
than ever in the marketplace, and CxPs
need to stay on the leading edge to learn
continuously about technology offerings
www.csemag.com
10 ways to incorporate technology

into your commissioning process
that allow them to supplement the commissioning process.

App choices and data deluge. Building owners and managers have picked up
on the buzz. They are hearing about the
efficiency and savings potential as well
as the speed and ease of data analytics
that they can achieve if they purchase
the latest shiny new big data applications. As a result, they are savvy but confused by the deluge; they read blogs, run
their days, and coordinate tasks through
handheld apps. They understand that
information can lead to efficiency, but
more data is only better if they know
what they need to do with it. Without
guidance from leaders of technological
building applications, the big data market will continue to evolve undirected,
creating further market fragmentation
and additional confusion for the buyers
of commissioning services.
From the building owners perspective,
the array of technology choices, analytical
The top 10 recommended methods for incorporating technology solutions into the commissioning process and improving building performance are:
1. Align technology solutions to end-user capabilities

2. Implement technology applications that fit into day-to-day operations
3. Manage the risk of innovation by adopting new solutions with pilot and small-scale test cases
4. Focus technology on solutions that directly support project goals
5. Trust but verify promises by big data analytics firms
(if it seems too good to be true, it probably is)
6. Make sure big data analytics requirements are documented in the owners project requirements
(OPR) and current facility requirements documents
7. Ensure sensors from which building data will be collected are verified for accuracy
(the output is only as good as the input)
8. Define the process of moving from data inferences to actionable tasks within the building
(checks and balances)
9. Align big data analytics reporting with owners needs (owners should not need to complete any
post-processing of data)
10. Ensure project-focused evaluation capabilities such as:

Point-to-point verification of all critical data pathways and end devices
Verification of database setup, efficiency, and accessibility
Data-backup system verification
Functional testing of technology solutions
A review of common pitfalls and recommendations for successful technology implementation.
A complete picture of building performance

is only available when one has and analyzes
all building data.
methods, and outcomes can be daunting.
The knowledge necessary to make the
right choice, for the right reasons, is timeconsuming and does not always produce
the desired result.
Performance goals. Building project owners, planners, designers, and
other stakeholders need to understand
the building-performance improvement
goals before shopping for a big data analytics solution. They need to vet big data
applications to determine if their needs
are met by the features and functions of
the solution. They also need assistance in
understanding how much data is enough
and how much is overload that bogs
down both system and operations performance. A complete picture of building
performance is only available when one
has and analyzes all building data, automation system data, energy data, equipment data, service work orders, etc. Each
set of data provides valuable information.
www.csemag.com
Big data analytics firms may position

their work as comprehensive, but if they
are examining just one set of data, it is
only a partial picture of building systems
operation at best.
Limited holistic solutions. Not
many experts provide holistic solutions.
Fragmented information sources such as
trade shows, presentations, blogs, technical websites, and other resources make
it hard to differentiate ecosystem solutions. Most provide individual value by
the piece; at this juncture there are a lot
of startups and intercompany consolidations, rendering many software solutions
unsupported. For example, Cisco jumped
into this market for a short time 5 years
ago, deploying its building management
tool, Mediator, which intended to tap
into Ciscos deep networking skills to
hook up the many and disparate software
networks used to heat, cool, and otherwise operate big commercial buildings.
Figure 1: This shows the commissioning authority conducting point-to-point

testing of building systems. All graphics
courtesy: McKinstry
DE-2
Commissioning and the technology evolution

design, construction, and operation
of buildings?
n To what degree should CxPs compel IT/building software personnel
and building industry professionals to come together as technology
blurs the line between fields?
n How do CxPs deliver commissioning services that address big
changes in building approaches like
security, resiliency, and technology
advancements?
n Data volume and qualityhow
much is enough?
Figure 2: Commissioning field verification is conducted on a data centers air-cooled

chilled water system.
After trying to improve and expand, it

discontinued the entire line of building
energy-management products, leaving
customers without recourse for servicing their investment.
Where does all of this leave the commissioning profession, which is focused
on boots-on-the-ground building science
and high performance underpinned by a
construction-industry mentality? CxPs
have been slow to accept unproven
technology tools, waiting and evaluating the outcomes they see, knowing there
may be financial and resource risk implications if they get it wrong.
The role of CxPs in technologycentric buildings
Despite some pessimistic opinions,

technology is not causing commissioning to go away. In fact, technology as a
commissioning tool enables providers to
assess more data points and deliver more
depth, efficiency, and value to owners.
As technology advances in buildings and
as the line between information technology (IT) and facility-centric systems
blurs, commissioning is becoming even
more critical to ensure whole-building
performance across integrated, advanced
DE-3
systems applications. Moreand more

effectiveuse of data also means less
sampling of building systems, more
accuracy, and lower cost of projectwide
performance measurement.
Technology tools speed up access to
useful data. Well-conceived and integrated technology assists CxPs to test data
quality and commission the analytics,
run trends, identify fixes, analyze issues,
and conduct point-to-point functionalperformance testing at scale. CxPs can
use technology to cast a wider net by
monitoring control points and subsystem energy use and by relating results to
the utility meter. Technology helps CxPs
evaluate performance back to design,
closing the long-existing gap between
design intent and ongoing operational
performance.
The role of CxPs in a technologycentric building environment is changing, and new questions are springing up
along the way:
n Where does technology fit in the

commissioning value proposition?
n How can CxPs further leverage and
apply technology solutions for the
The answers to these questions are

evolving as CxPs expand their use of
technology tools in the commissioning
process.
Opportunities for CxPs, project teams
To stay on top of their profession,

CxPs will need to do more to represent
owners best interests in technology
applications by identifying efficiencies
and deficiencies in systems integration
and working with project teams to manage integration efforts that meet owners project requirements. Historically,
decentralized data-monitoring devices
and older versions of direct digital controls (DDC) have been used for trending.
Specifically, CxPs analyzed data using
spreadsheet softwarean unstable and
time-consuming platform.
Now that more sophisticated controls
allow for easier and more reliable data
access, it is time to make use of these
applications for trending and comparative analysis. It is no longer necessary
to double-check data quality or analysis
using Microsoft Excel. Here are tips to
make use of these options:
1. Use smart commissioning. A

recent presentation at the National Conference on Building Commissioning by
Jim Meacham, PE, principal at Altura
Associates, Smart Commissioning:
Leveraging Analytics Tools to Deliver
www.csemag.com
How much is
too much data?
Persistent Performance, provided a case
study of the Caltech Beckman Institute
in Pasadena, Calif. This project included
retrofitting 27 laboratories from analog
to digital controls. It involved capturing
information on trends, running analytics
as part of functional testing, using data
to reapply analytics to past situations,
and testing all setpointsa good way to
avoid costly random sampling and uplevel commissioning effectiveness.
In addition to a description of the
process used for the Caltech Beckman
Institute, Meacham describes important
achievements resulting from the use of
technology to commission the facility,
which would not otherwise have been
possible:
Demonstrated potential for future
cost reduction through automated
testing
Faster identification of issuesthe
issues log was available at commissioning kickoff
Ability to test all labs with the hit
of a buttonretesting was made
much simpler
Significantly reduced field hours
for all players.
2. Update owners project requirements (OPR). The goal of the OPR is to

align owners expectations for project
outcomes with how buildings will be
used and operated. As a key instrument
in the operations and performance of
buildings, technology must be addressed
in the project OPR for a successful project. At a minimum, the OPR should
address the following technology-centric
requirements:
Data requirements and application
of technology to provide measurable project results
User interface and functionality
required by building operators and
occupants
www.csemag.com
Systems necessary to meet project

performance outcomes
Commissioning plan and approach
for verifying project metering/sensors accuracy and communication
Monitoring plan and process for
leveraging building analytics to
meet project goals
Purpose, requirements, and methods for systems integration
Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders responsible for technologyspecific solutions
Technology-specific training
requirements based on building
staff capabilities.
Getting ahead
CxPs who get in front of the technology evolution and use best practices will
provide the best value to building owners
and ultimately to the building industry.
CxPs are in a position to guide owners and practitioners in the evolution of
technology-based building performance,
and leverage technology for the benefit of project stakeholders. To achieve
and sustain that position, CxPs need to
understand types of products, software,
and services available in the marketplace,
and how these advance their ability to
communicate and sell commissioning
services effectively.
To move CxP teams to technologybased commissioning solutions, it is
critical to develop educational resources,
events, and networking within the commissioning profession and the building
community. The cost of not embracing
technology in the commissioning process
affects everyone, especially owners and
facility operations teams who lose out on
the future ability to control their buildings efficiently.
Current resources for learning more
about state-of-the-art technology-based
commissioning are scarce to-date, but
growing. They include venues where
s the effort to integrate and connect to

continuous streams of building information
becomes easier in light of technology advances,
McKinstry is seeing issues develop with analysis
paralysiscases where too much data makes
the identification of meaningful information
nearly impossible.
In response, successful methods to monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx) applications
are integrating thousands of points for a building using a more engineered and deliberate
approach. These applications identify, map, and
track only the data points most valuable to the
client/process, with a preconceived strategy for
how that data will be used to provide value.
Buildings that McKinstry monitors today now
are limited to several hundred points with the
outcome being far better. As a result of this
approach, McKinstry engineers are able to more
quickly identify performance issues, troubleshoot
and identify resolutions, and fix issues.
manufacturers, systems integrators, CxPs,

and relevant service providers are presenting products, software, and services,
such as trade shows, in-person events,
webinars, and workshops.
CxPs must embrace technology. It is a
tool that increases project productivity,
without which CxPs may price themselves
out of the building commissioning market. By embracing technology, CxPs send
a message to the market that technology is
a tool by which building commissioning
can be executed efficiently and effectively, and that it is intended to supplement
knowledge, skills, and experience.
Michael Chimack is the director of the
energy services center of excellence for
Siemens Building Technologies, providing comprehensive building performance
optimization solutions throughout North
America.
Jesse Sycuro is account executive for
energy and facility services at McKinstry,
providing smart building solutions nationwide with energy management, monitoring-based commissioning, and analytics
solutions for building optimization.
This article is authored by members of
the Building Commissioning Association,
a Consulting-Specifying Engineer content partner.
DE-4
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47
Future of Engineering
BY DERWIN IRVINE
Morrissey Goodale, Newton, Mass.
Five tips for hiring the right talent

Dont lose the war for engineering talent. Staffing plans facilitate growth.
rom a human capital perspective,

what have you and your firm done
in preparation to meet your succession plans and growth goals for the
year? The answer is that many engineering firms often leave any resource
planning until the year is well under
way, or ignore developing a detailed
workforce/staffing plan altogether.
The outlook for the mechanical,
electrical, plumbing (MEP), and fire
protection engineering industry is
strong for 2016. The Dodge Data &
Analytics outlook forecasts U.S. construction starts for 2016 rising 6% to
$712 billion. The war for talent in the
architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) space is returning to
pre-recession levels.
Additionally, according to Morrissey
Goodales January Recruiting Flash, the
industry added 37,100 new jobs from
November 2014 to November 2015.
Competition for talent will be intense
this year, and your firm needs to prepare to meet that challenge head-on.
Following are some best practices for
workforce/staffing planning to better
facilitate hiring for growth.
1.
Early planning
The best practice for developing a

staffing plan starts in Q4 of the prior
year. Begin by focusing on backlog and
project pursuits for the upcoming year.
Analyze whether you have enough staff
to cover existing backlog and whether
staff rolling off current projects can
cover projected demand. This is a great
time to evaluate existing openings
against business needs and priorities.
48
Get an early start on posting your

jobs, given the demand for talent.
Build up a pipeline of talent to hire
when the time is right. Give yourself
enough time to identify, hire, and
onboard new employees to maximize revenues and project delivery.
Remember, the labor market is going
to be tighter than ever this year. The
average time to fill a position in the
industry is more than 50 days, with
many hard-to-fill positions taking a
lot longer.
3. Turnover/contingency planning
2. Be specific
Key hiring for growth is a major

component of any staffing plan. Adding key talent is the primary means of
investing in growth. Identifying needs
and coming up with a hiring plan will
maximize your chances of success.
You will want to assess whether
your project managers are overloaded,
whether you have the right project
leadership in place to help position you
for project wins, and what hires you
need to execute on your strategic plan.
Estimating the number of hires

needed for the year does not constitute
a staffing plan. This does not provide
enough detail for the hiring team to
execute. Offices should do staffing planning on a project basis and be as specific
as possible when detailing the plan.
Resource-planning challenges are
abundant, given the project-based
nature of our industry. There are a
lot of uncontrollable variables when
developing the plan. However, a lack
of planning can lead to lost revenues,
project delays, and no going projects
due to a lack of resources.
Factors to cover include:
Title of the position
Discipline
Location
Hiring manager
Designated project
Timing
Hourly rate.
This information should be developed into a tracking document.
It is not uncommon for the average

firm in the industry to have 10% to
15% turnover per year. The staffing
plan should also address this issue.
Although hard to plan for, there are a
number of things your team can do:
Look at your past turnover rates
Analyze whether employees may
be at risk of leaving
Proactively recruit for employee
departures.
4. Key hiring
5. Follow-up
A staffing plan is a living document

that changes throughout the year and, as
such, needs to be continually reviewed
and updated. As with any plan, things
change and turn out differently than
expected. For instance, projects may get
delayed or canceled. Plans should be
reviewed and updated monthly.
Derwin Irvine is a principal consultant
with Morrissey Goodale. He is a human
resources consultant with more than 15
years of experience in AEC talent.
www.csemag.com
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