SCHOOL OF FOREST RESOURCES BUILDING

1
SCHOOL OF FOREST RESOURCES BUILDING
Penn State University
University Park, PA

• Senior Thesis Presentation

13 April 2005
2
PRESENTATION AGENDA

• Project Background
• LEED Certification for Laboratory Buildings
• Variable Air Volume Systems for Laboratories
• Immersive Virtual Modeling for MEP Coordination
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
3
PROJECT BACKGROUND

• PROJECT OVERVIEW
• Size 92,000 SF
• Laboratory Space 28,000 SF
• Cost 27,000,000
• Construction August 2004 December 2005
• Delivery Method CM Agency
• CM Agency Gilbane Building Company
• Designed as LEED Certified

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
4
PRESENTATION AGENDA

• Project Background
• LEED Certification for Laboratory Buildings
• Variable Air Volume Systems for Laboratories
• Immersive Virtual Modeling for MEP Coordination
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
5
LEED CERTIFICATION FOR LABS

• WHAT IS LEED?
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
• Established by the US Green Building Council
  (USGBC)
• Voluntary, consensus based national standard for
  developing high performance, sustainable
  buildings
• Four levels
• Certified 26-32 points
• Silver 33-38 points
• Gold 39-51 points
• Platinum 52-69 points

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
6
LEED CERTIFICATION FOR LABS

• BENEFITS OF LEED
• Decrease energy costs
• Up to 6/SF for typical lab
• Decrease water consumption
• Up to 1,000,000 gallons/year
• Reduced equipment size
• Improved indoor environmental quality
• 20 26 improvement in learning / comprehension
• 1.6 1.9 improvement in classroom attendance
• 2 4 improvement in employee productivity

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
7
LEED CERTIFICATION FOR LABS

• DIFFICULTIES FOR LABORATORY BUILDINGS
• High demand for power and water
• Air quality requirements
• 100 outdoor air
• Minimum air flow rates
• Air changes per hour
• Maintain negative room pressure

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
8
LEED - ING BY EXAMPLE

• DONALD BREN HALL
• UC SANTA BARBARA
• First LEED Platinum certified laboratory building
  in the country
• Similar in size and scope to the Forest Resources
  building

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion

• Keys to sustainability
• Photovoltaic array on roof provides 10 of total
  electricity needed
• High efficiency variable air volume mechanical
  system
• Constructed from more than 40 recycled
  materials
• Water conservation and reclamation

Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
9
LEED CERTIFICATION FOR LABS
THE COST OF GOING GREEN
Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion

• Bren Hall achieved Platinum certification for
  only 2 above construction costs

Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
10
LEED CERTIFICATION FOR LABS

• FOREST RESOURCES BUILDING
• Designed for LEED Certification
• Could easily achieve Silver or even Gold
  certification
• Main areas of focus
• Landscaping
• Water conservation
• Reduce total energy use

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
11
PRESENTATION AGENDA

• Project Background
• LEED Certification for Laboratory Buildings
• Variable Air Volume Systems for Laboratories
• Immersive Virtual Modeling for MEP Coordination
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
12
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS

• WHAT IS VAV?
• Variable Air Volume
• System varies the amount of air supplied to
  specific areas of the building based on demand
• Advantages
• Reduced energy costs
• Reduced equipment sizes
• Disadvantages
• Higher initial cost
• Higher maintenance costs
• More sensors and control wiring needed

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
13
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS
IS THERE A NEED FOR VAV SYSTEMS?
Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
ENERGY USE FOR A TYPICAL LAB
Source labs21.org
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
14
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS

• VAV FOR LABORATORIES
• Must maintain room pressure
• Laboratory fume hoods
• Minimum air flow
• Sash position sensors
• Maintain constant conditions for experiments
• Override switch

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
15
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS
TYPICAL LABORATORY VAV ARRANGEMENT
Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
16
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS

• IS A VAV SYSTEM COST EFFECTIVE?
• Typical constant volume system
• 12 - 14 / SF of laboratory
• Typical VAV system
• 15 - 17 / SF of laboratory
• VAV system alone can save up to 2 / SF per year
  on energy costs
• Life cycle cost analysis shows VAV to be a better
  economic investment over life of building

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
17
PRESENTATION AGENDA

• Project Background
• LEED Certification for Laboratory Buildings
• Variable Air Volume Systems for Laboratories
• Immersive Virtual Modeling for MEP Coordination
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
18
IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL MODELING

• MEP COORDINATION PROCESS
• Traditionally done with 2D drawings
• Difficult to visualize elevations and layout of
  components

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
19
IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL MODELING

• MEP COORDINATION USING VRML
• 3D model exported to Virtual Reality Modeling
  Language (VRML)
• Goal of immersive virtual model is to reduce time
  needed to detect collisions
• Save time and money during coordination and
  construction

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
20
IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL MODELING

• INDUSTRY SURVEY
• Nine professionals from the Forest Resources
  building
• Ranged from mechanical engineers to pipe fitters

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Visualizing the layout and elevations of duct and
piping is easier with the immersive virtual model
than with traditional 2D drawings
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
5 4
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
21
IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL MODELING

• INDUSTRY SURVEY
• Nine professionals from the Forest Resources
  building
• Ranged from mechanical engineers to pipe fitters

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Using an immersive virtual model could speed up
the MEP coordination process
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
3 5 1
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
22
IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL MODELING

• INDUSTRY SURVEY
• Nine professionals from the Forest Resources
  building
• Ranged from mechanical engineers to pipe fitters

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Using an immersive virtual model during the MEP
coordination process could help avoid delays
during construction
Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree
1 7 1
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
23
IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL MODELING

• CONCERNS ON THE USE OF VRML
• One of the biggest drawbacks is the additional
  time and money needed to create the immersive
  virtual model
• Hopefully, this money would be made up during
  construction by having no delays or change
  orders
• Having an environment available to view an
  immersive virtual model in stereo can be costly
  and space consuming
• Taking advantage of facilities such as this one
  could be beneficial

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
24
PRESENTATION AGENDA

• Project Background
• LEED Certification for Laboratory Buildings
• Variable Air Volume Systems for Laboratories
• Immersive Virtual Modeling for MEP Coordination
• Conclusions and Recommendations

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
25
CONCLUSION

• LEED Certification is a worthwhile and rewarding
  endeavor
• Main focus for Forest Resources building should
  be reduced energy use
• Using a VAV system can greatly reduce energy
  consumption
• Special attention should be given to laboratory
  requirements
• Visualizing MEP coordination drawings can be
  greatly enhanced by immersive virtual models
• Some barriers do exist that make the technology
  not quickly adopted into the construction
  industry
• Immersive virtual models can be an economically
  rewarding investment

Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
26
QUESTIONS
Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
27
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS
LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS
Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
LC IC AC ((1 i)n 1) / (i (1
i)n) where LC life cycle cost IC
initial cost AC annual cost (energy
maintenance) i interest rate n number
of years
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
28
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS
LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS
Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
20 Year Period Given economic factors Interest
rate 8 Service Life 20 years Constant
Volume system Initial cost 364,000 Energy
cost 168,000 / year Maintenance cost
35,000 / year Variable Air Volume
system Initial cost 448,000 Energy cost
112,000 / year Maintenance cost 38,000 / year
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005
29
VAV SYSTEMS FOR LABS
LIFE CYCLE COST ANALYSIS
Background LEED Design VAV Systems VRML
Models Conclusion
Constant Volume life cycle cost LC 364,000
(35,000 168,000) ((1 0.08)20 1) /
(0.08 (1 0.08)20) LC
2,357,000 Variable Air Volume life cycle
cost LC 448,000 (38,000 112,000) ((1
0.08)20 1) / (0.08 (1 0.08)20) LC
1,921,000
Brian Horn

Senior Thesis Presentation Construction
Management

13 April 2005