Among the challenges facing maintenance and engineering managers in institutional and commercial facilities — from staffing and compliance to budgeting — few have as large an impact on an organization’s bottom line as HVAC system upgrades. Complicating the upgrade process are emerging and evolving trends related to HVAC system demands, facility needs and technology.
Given the complex state of new-generation HVAC upgrades, managers must pay more attention than ever to issues related to identifying system needs, communicating upgrade goals and ensuring projects that use valuable organizational resources perform as intended and deliver the desired benefits.
One critical early step for managers involved in planning HVAC system upgrades is understanding where to devote their time and energy.
“I always recommend starting with a form of facility condition assessment that would uncover what’s driving the need,” says Todd Robertson, head of technical services Americas at ISS, a provider of facility management services. “What is it we’re trying to satisfy? What are the business needs? Is it just people in the area? Is there a certain standard that needs to be met if it’s a hospital or other institution of some sort? Are there seasonal issues?”
While the in-house planning team for HVAC system upgrades can be large, managers also need to consider the role of outside experts to ensure project success.
“Engaging a balancing contractor to do a testing, adjusting and balancing report prior to starting any project is another critical piece that allows managers to gather information,” says Chuck Dudas, associate principal, mechanical discipline leader and sustainability leader with SMRT, an engineering and architectural consulting firm. “Managers can prioritize from there once they gather that information.”
Thanks to the proliferation of sensors throughout many facilities, managers have a deep pool of essential data on HVAC system operation at their fingertips, which can be critical in identifying upgrade needs.
“The building management system is really where you start,” Dudas says. “Most facilities staff are looking at the BMS all the time. They’re looking at data that is typically real time or close to real time.
“One piece of low-hanging fruit is to start trending that data — measuring data at points over time so you can see the temperature in a space. If I’ve gotten complaints about the temperature in this space, trend that temperature over time and see what it does over a day, over two weeks, over a month. Then you get a fuller picture. Trending data is really important to do from your BMS, especially if there are areas that are troublesome.”
While BMS can provide important data needed for upgrade planning, managers often have access to other sources of performance and condition data.
“Part of any engineering of an upgrade or a new system should involve a review of building automation data but also energy management data and even manual data captured when operators use clipboards and take process variable readings from time to time,” Robertson says. “Whatever data is gathered, you should be able to use that and trend to look at the amount of load, the amount of energy used, the filter differential. All of those things factor in.”
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many managers to revisit their facilities’ ventilation and filtration systems, and changes that resulted from that process continue today.
“COVID-19 still remains top of mind,” Dudas says. “For healthcare facilities, for example, infection control is still top of mind. Planning for adaptability is a big one — planning to allow for your air handling units to be able to increase their outdoor airflow, planning for spaces that can become negatively pressurized, planning for space within a room to allow for an air cleaner to be installed in the future, should you need it.”
In the wake of the pandemic, organizations have faced challenges related to workers returning to the office, and these challenges in turn have affected decisions managers make about HVAC systems.
“Regarding real estate plans and space planning and occupancy, that has changed quite a bit since the pandemic,” Robertson says. “In fact, many organizations are downsizing their footprints because they realized that typical organizations have people in the office two to three days a week, and they’re working from home the other two to three days a week, which has an impact on air quality to a degree. It definitely has an impact on heat load requirements.”
The questions that managers must answer in planning HVAC upgrades go well beyond indoor air quality (IAQ) and ventilation.
Robertson suggests managers ask questions such as, “Where am I located? Is it a dusty environment? Is there ambient pollution that I need to scrub out? Are there multiple filter banks that I can put in as part of retrofitting or replacing a system to improve air quality?
“One big component that typically comes out of the facility condition assessment is, ‘Do I have leakage anywhere? Are there leaks in window seals? Are there leaks in ducting? Are there leaks in with insulation? Do I have air balancing issues?’ That’s typically driven by variable air volume controllers that typically work to balance air from one area of a system to another. Those obviously all drive air quality.”
Given the number of components often involved in HVAC system upgrades, as well as the array of interested parties and the impact of the projects on facilities, it is not uncommon for managers to encounter hurdles during planning and implementation.
“Not engaging a commissioning team is a big mistake,” Dudas says. “A commissioning agent really is supposed to bridge the gap between the engineering team, contractors and the facilities and owners. They put all those parties together and help make sure that in the end, the facilities staff and the facility is set up for success.”
The handover process at the completion of a project can be especially problematic,
“When there’s a weak handover between the controls contractor and the facilities team, that can cause major headaches for facilities,” Dudas says. “If facilities are not comfortable with the building controls, then controls contractors are being called back. Make sure that the facility staff is really comfortable with the building controls before they let the controls contractor lead the project.”
Managers would be wise to pay extra attention to the issue of controls before and during the handover process.
“The HVAC contractor is responsible for essentially doing programming on site for every project,” he says. “That can vary based on the controls contractor or based on the software. There’s no real uniformity across the industry on the controls platform and how the control software is going to look.
“As the facilities manager and team, you might get familiar with a particular software for this building. But if you were to move facilities, it might be a brand-new software that you’d have to learn. That can be a real challenge for facilities staff — getting to know the building software and making sure they’re comfortable with that software.”
The issue of equipment accessibility and location also is likely to cause problems for managers who do not pay enough attention.
“You have to think in terms of, ‘Am I going to need to run a camera in this at some point to make sure that I don’t have fouling?’,” he says. “What does that access point look like? Can I actually maintain all of the components and subcomponents of the system effectively? Can I get two parts that I need to get?
“In cases where I may be installing sensors, have I thought about where those are going to go so that I can lubricate bearings effectively, so that I can install vibration equipment effectively, so that transducers that support the building automation can be installed effectively?”
Robertson emphasizes the need for a comprehensive handover process that ensures a smooth transition to the project’s post-construction phase.
“In many cases, the project goes really well,” Robertson says. “The construction company leaves. There may be a partial handoff. They may leave some binders behind. But the operational team may not always be involved in that commissioning. So make sure that they’re clear on that piping and instrumentation is properly in place, that we have the right lubrication, that they’re trained on how to maintain the equipment through warranty period and beyond.”
While managers might understandably focus on equipment considerations and data analysis when planning HVAC upgrades, they also would be wise to pay attention to a so-called soft skill — clear communication.
“It’s critical that the facilities team indicate what their goals are for the project and that they clearly define those and communicate those to a design team,” Dudas says. “Those goals should be communicated at the earliest stages of the project because they can be major drivers on the HVAC system selection, for example, or where equipment is located, whether ease of maintenance is a priority. That could mean locating equipment indoors or outdoors or providing penthouses.
“If facilities staff are clearly communicating what their goals are for the project, it can make for a much smoother project.”
Dan Hounsell is senior editor for the facilities market. He has more than 30 years of experience writing about facilities maintenance, engineering and management.
