A Systems-Efficient Approach to Hospital De-carbonization

Kaiser installs Heater Recovery Chiller in Disadvantaged Community

Building Decarbonization

Institute of Gas Technology dba Gas Technology Institute

Recipient

Des Plaines, IL

Recipient Location

37th

Senate District

68th

Assembly District

beenhere

$797,780

Amount Spent

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Active

Project Status

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Project Update

Work continues on the draft retrofit M&V plan. Subcontractor Stok is developing the baseline energy model, including establishing the zoning and HVAC baselines. Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development has reviewed and approved the installation of 16 air handling units. The design for the heat recovery chiller is 40% complete. SkySpark, a software analytics platform that analyzes system level building data and analytics, is being used to trend central utility plant data. Other work underway includes installation of instrumentation, and finishing work on electrical and communication systems.

The Issue

Hospitals, due to the nature of their work and running on a 24-hour basis, have higher energy intensity per square foot than any other building in the commercial sector.

Project Innovation

The project aims to reduce the natural gas consumption and GHG emissions at the demonstration site, each by over 30%. This will be accomplished by integrating heat recovery chiller design and boiler stack economizers to reduce steam boiler fuel requirements for the domestic hot water and heating hot water systems. The project will implement a variable air volume system (VAV), design air handlers with separate cold and hot decks to optimize economizer mode, and have model-based optimal control strategy to minimize building heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) energy consumption.

Project Benefits

The project integrates heat recovery chiller design and boiler stack economizers to reduce gas requirements for the domestic hot water and heating hot water systems. The project also includes a variable air volume system (VAV), design air handlers with separate cold and hot decks to optimize economizer mode, and a model-based optimal control strategy. The integration of different heat sources (a heat recovery chiller utilizing heat from the compressor gas and stack economizers utilizing waste stack heat from the boilers) at diffferent pressues and temperatures requires an advanced model to initially design and then robust measurement and verification to successfully operate this kind of system. The advancement of technology is associated with harnessing these differrent systems together, includng the condensation of stack gas which then all contribute to lower gas and electricity use.

Affordability

The integration of a number of advanced technologies could reduce natural gas use by 30% and reduce overall operating cost by approximately $1.55 million per year, including 287,000 therms of gas and over 8,000 MWhs of elecricity per year.