We are sure: the client feels comfortable only if he does not sense our systems. Simply, you are in comfortable zone if there is fresh air, right temperature, and no noise.
Most complaints about the indoor microclimate are related to inadequate temperature. There are many methods to maintain the temperature of the room by natural ventilation, heating and cooling devices, or supplied air. The specified software, which provides simulation of internal temperature flows (taking into account interaction of heat load sources and heat loses), is essential tool to gather all the information, which is necessary to select correct method and capacities as well as to ensure temperature parameters with minimum investments and energy.
Mechanical ventilation and cooling systems always produce noise, both inside and outside of the building. The most common reason of excessive noise is errors in design: selection of improper equipment, incorrect location, complicated ducting, increased air speed, leaking, inaccurate device selection. Elimination of the noise is very expensive, and sometimes it is even impossible. The noise of the correctly designed systems is low and does not irritate the user.
In order to save energy, sealed buildings are constructed, thus mechanical ventilation is required. Fresh air is necessary both for human needs (lack of the fresh air is scientifically proven to reduce work efficiency) and for building in order to avoid “building diseases”, such as decay, mould, etc. It is important to remember that indoor air quality depends not only on the amount of fresh air, but also on the proper selection and placement of air supply and exhaust terminals. The temperature of supply air, location of inhabitants, and flow patterns should be evaluated. This allows feeling the fresh air with lesser air provided by the system, thus charges for energy will be reduced.
Building engineer or designer has to anticipate the possibilities of system servicing already at the designing stage: systems should be as simple as possible and easy to maintain. Allocation of the equipment and devices should provide the possibility to perform service works in a convenient and efficient manner
Design of technical facilities requires consideration of interaction of all systems, the manufacturer’s service requirements and possibilities to maintain and repair the equipment easily. It is common for the construction site workers to perform the installation of the equipment according to their own “design”, which results in unused space, or vice versa, in equipment squeezing and complicated service. During design stage, such issues may be easily avoided as the 3D models can help optimize the space of the technical facilities.
Changes in technology are bringing air heating, ventilation, and conditioning professionals many types of equipment.Air conditioning systems become more and more intricate every day. In case low cost equipment is chosen, its performance may be improper and/or unstable; the situations, where necessary parameters are not achieved, are also possible. However, expensive and advanced equipment is not always the best choice, as in most cases, functions of the high-end devices are not fully used in the system, therefore your investments may not return. It is utmost important to select proper equipment and functionality according to your needs. System’s capacities should match the calculations exactly – no more, no less. Independent building engineer would be the best person who could evaluate suppliers’ proposals.
Building life cycle lasts at least 50 years. Therefore, focusing to the construction expenses only is not a correct attitude: not only installation, but also maintenance and, of course, energy costs should be considered. Engineering concept and design solutions make a great impact to the the life cycle cost of the building.
Expenses of the building life-cycle include costs for planning, investment, and operation. Operation costs (charges for energy, maintenance, repairs, and renovation) make approximately 70% of the building’s life cycle cost. These huge numbers may be significantly reduced by having a proper engineering concept. The quality of both installation works and materials/equipment used make a significant impact on operating costs as well. Planning and supervision expenses make a very small part comparing to life-cycle cost, but the impact for future operation is crucial. Investments into professional planning, calculations, and simulation provide very high returns on investment. Unfortunately, only minor specialists are able to perform accurate calculations of energy consumption, as advanced simulation programs, skills, and meticulous work are required to perform this task. Moreover, not so many investors find themselves ready to invest into design calculations.
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The designer and installer have a huge impact on maintenance or service costs that will be spent during the entire life cycle of the system. The costs of future maintenance will be lower if several conditions are met, like, engineering concept is proper and the system is capable to ensure the operation with less equipment, the designer locates equipment and devices in the design as it should be according to their functionality, the equipment and materials are selected of a high quality, and the installer installs the equipment properly and in accordance with manufacturer’s requirements. Supervision carried by the independent building engineer may reduce the risk of mistakes remarkably.
Both interior designer and architect often require to customize the look of engineering system equipment (usually, to hide it). However, it is very important to ensure the proper functionality of the system in order to keep the comfort. It is a challenge for designing engineer to satisfy the requirements both of the interior and the system installation. Dedicated software of terminal selection, simulation, and 3D modelling is used to find the solutions, where the interior requirements are satisfied without compromising the performance of engineering systems.
When we talk about energy consumption, all attention goes to the electricity use of a device while in operation. However, we should also consider the energy that was required to manufacture the devices. All the energy used by the engineering systems impacts our environment. For this reason, the HVAC systems should not be oversized and they should use the energy very efficiently as well. Accurate calculations of the heat and cold capacities and consumption are the reason why simulation software should be used. Such tools give us possibility to assess the influence of the sun, building’s architecture properties, and system operating modes. The architect should start cooperation with building engineer in the very early stage of the project in order to implement the recommended solutions for energy saving (e.g. solutions for passive energy consumption) or equipment and shaft allocation, etc.
Since 2013, energy certification for buildings and facilities became mandatory, i.e. the constructors are required to define the class of the energy consumption (in other words, building’s energy efficiency). HVAC systems have a significant impact on a building’s energy efficiency. If for any reason (for example, requirements of heritage preservation) it is difficult to insulate the building, the building’s energy consumption class can be improved by installing efficient engineering systems. Such systems use very little energy due to high-performance heat recovery equipment and exploitation of renewable energy sources.
Sun is the source of free heating, but it may also cause the discomfort and additional charges for cooling. Sun-oriented facade and large windows allow using the advantages of the free heat source and natural illuminating. However, during the warm season, heat becomes excessive very quickly. The building engineer and architect should evaluate the amount of the heat the building receives during the different seasons, and provide the client with the recommendations regarding the protection of the premises from the excessive heat. The advanced simulation software may be used to find the best solution for this complex problem.
We see building engineering as systems that bring life into the building. Those include electricity, heating and cooling, air conditioning, water supply and sewerage, data transfer, security and fire alarm systems as well as building management system. Each day the complexity and prices of the engineering systems are increasing; the design, installation, and maintenance of such systems require high competence, knowledge, and continuous improvement.
Engineering concept of the building defines the methods to be used in order to ensure the healthy microclimate and other ambient factors of the internal facilities, taking into account architectural concept, client’s needs, and legislative requirements. The concept should be created together with the architect before starting the designing works. Interaction between all engineering systems should be evaluated as well. Proper concept should include energy consumption calculations; and different solutions should be simulated and evaluated in order to select the most suitable for a certain building. Elimination of the errors that were introduced during the stage of concept creation is difficult and expensive. Evaluation of the power consumption is a key factor while assessing the building life cycle costs and returns on investment. Experience, knowledge, innovation, and preliminary calculations are the essentials of the successful building concept.
We apply the holistic approach to all engineering systems as they operate simultaneously and influence each other. For example, implementation of LED lights can reduce the required capacity of air conditioning devices. Smart automation solutions can reduce the total power input. Understanding the interaction between the systems helps to adjust the operation and performance by exploiting the advantages and avoiding overlapping.
Building engineer is responsible for the final functionality and operation of the engineering systems. In order to ensure the required result, he should be involved into the entire cycle of the building construction, starting with concept definition and design, ending with installation and commissioning. Building engineer also bears social responsibility to make building energy-efficient. The requirement for the architect’s team to provide the documents proving qualification of energy efficiency engineer is highlighted in many governmental tenders in the Western Europe.
In Lithuania (as well as in other EU countries), it is a mandatory to issue the energy consumption certificate for each newly constructed building. Previously, construction auditors were focused on the features of building’s constructions and heat recovery. Now, a new approach to the engineering systems is applied, taking into account not only energy consumption, but also the comfort. Evaluation becomes more complex as more variations are possible, thus engineering systems become a major factor, which may help to get higher score during certification. Naturally, the role of building engineer becomes more or more important.
Due to complexity of the modern engineering systems, their controls should be automated in order to ensure the proper operation. The building engineer knows how the system operates, and the automation engineer specializes in its management. Properly operating and energy efficient system is the result of close cooperation with the building engineer and deep understanding of the system performance.
Each building is a unique combination of the architectural characteristics and engineering systems. That is the reason why it should have its very own engineering concepts. The same HVAC system should not be applied to different buildings, as it may be completely inefficient due to different properties of the building. Therefore, it is necessary to perform calculations and evaluate all the factors. Simulation of internal and external influences is the best instrument to select appropriate engineering concept for the building.