Architect of Capitol Saves Energy Time and Money with Cypress Envirosystems

Reducing the energy profile of the existing building stock in the US is be-coming a high priority for the federal government and many ARRA stimulus funds are directed at initiatives that increase the energy efficiency of the nation is building stock. However, in addition to "putting its money where its mouth is," the US government is leading by example by retrofitting much of its own building stock to take advantage of the savings and operational efficiencies generated by new technology.

Cutting the energy consumed by a building's HVAC system represents low-hanging fruit. Estimates suggest that as much as 70 percent of existing buildings in the US still rely on old, inefficient, pneumatic HVAC systems and approximately 60 million pneumatic thermostats are still in use. In their current state, these buildings cannot leverage the advantages of digital control. The challenge is to introduce digital control to an existing system while minimizing costs, downtime, and the invasiveness of the installation. The Architect of the Capitol (AoC) and Cypress Envirosystems shared their experiences on how to achieve these goals with attendees at ARC's World Industry Forum in Orlando, FL in February.

The Project
The joint presentation focused primarily on the recent retrofit of the Ford Building in Washington D.C. Until recently, the Ford Building, constructed in 1939, still utilized approximately 1,200 pneumatic thermostats. Initially, Cypress Envirosystems replaced 106 pneumatic thermostats with the company's Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat (WPT) in one area of the building as a "test drive." The objective was to learn how invasive a full-fledged installation would be, become comfortable with the functionality of the new thermostats, and validate Cypress Envirosystems' performance claims.

The Installation
Although fully operational, the pneumatic HVAC system at the Ford Building had become cumbersome. Setpoints were controlled manually, zone control was not possible, no diagnostic information was available, thermostats had to be calibrated manually, and the building was unable to take advantage of demand response programs offered by utilities. Furthermore, the system wasted energy, required constant maintenance, and resulted in less-than-optimal comfort levels for the building's occupants. Generally, the most efficient way to retrofit a building system is to maintain as much of the existing legacy system as possible. This was a primary goal of the AoC for the Ford Building retrofit.

Another option for the AoC was to introduce direct digital control (DDC) thermostats to the building's pneumatic HVAC system. However, when the AoC compared the costs, expected downtime, and potential safety hazards of the two options, it became clear that the Cypress Envirosystems WPT solution was the best option for the Ford Building with respect to installation costs and energy savings. DDC retrofits cost approximately $2,500-3,000 per zone and the AoC was told the project would take two months to complete. The relatively invasive installation would also disrupt employees, business productivity, and daily building operations. By installing Cypress Envirosystems' technology, the project was completed in just one week at approximately 80 percent less cost than for a DDC installation, and with minimal business disruptions.

Other Benefits
Once installed, the WPT automatically connects to the network and enables remote temperature sensing and control of set points, programmable zone control, and night/weekend setback, with automatic self-calibration. The available BACnet communications integrates with existing automation systems, enabling use with utility demand response programs as well as other building systems, such as energy management platforms or enterprise asset management systems.

By installing the WPT, the AoC expects to reduce HVAC energy costs by 20–30 percent per year as well as significantly reduce maintenance costs. Other projects that have utilized Cyprus Envirosystems' WPT have seen an average ROI of approximately 18 months and the AoC expects similar results at the Ford Building. This ROI is much faster than users have experienced with other products designed to reduce energy costs in commercial buildings.

Since walls and ceilings don't need to be opened, the WPT also minimizes the chance of encountering a "Pandora's Box" event; the threat of finding harmful elements in the building (such as asbestos) which, by law, must be removed if encountered during construction; or finding building conditions that are not up to code and must be fixed before construction can end. The cost to rectify either could cannibalize the benefits of the intended installation, sending the ROI equation past the company's acceptable threshold. The WPT helps manage the risk of the installation.

Conclusion
Cypress Envirosystems' Wireless Pneumatic Thermostats enable older buildings to adopt the latest automation technologies and generates energy savings comparable to a traditional DDC building retrofit, but at a fraction of the cost and installation time. The WPT costs approximately 80 percent less than DDC per zone, the less-invasive installation of the WPT saves time, maintenance costs, and minimizes the likelihood of encountering Pandora's Box events. The wireless thermostats can be installed in just minutes and the installation typically provides payback within 18 months.

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