INNOVATIONS

TOP 10 INNOVATIVE ENGINEERING APPROACHES

We're counting down our Top 10 list in INNOVATIONS

#10 - Life-Cycle-Cost Based Decision-Making

#9 - DOAS (Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems

#8 - Radiant Cooling

#7 - DALI Lighting Control Systems

#6 - All-Variable Speed (AVS) Chilled Water Plant

#5 - Web-Based Collaboration and Archive Tools

#4 - Fuel Cells for Building Applications

What is a fuel cell? Are fuel cells an option for your building? Here is an overview of the industry today.

A fuel cell is simply an electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy stored in a fuel into electrical energy, heat, and water -- with little or no pollutants. Hydrogen, the primary fuel, is typically produced by reformation of natural gas or propane or from electrolysis of water. Electrolysis is the process of splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen by applying electricity (the opposite of the fuel cell reaction).

In the 21^st century, fuel cells have the potential to revolutionize the way power is generated, much like the internal combustion engine did in the past century. For building applications, fuel cell systems offer modularity, high efficiency across a wide range of load conditions, minimal environmental impact, and opportunities for integration into cogeneration systems. A variety of fuel cell technologies are being developed. The proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is targeted for low temperature, low cost applications. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operates at high temperatures and can integrated into hybrid fuel cells and gas turbine systems that achieve efficiencies as high as 70%.

Intense research by government and private interests is rapidly advancing the development and commercialization of fuel cell systems for vehicle and building applications. The automotive industry is leading the way in development of PEM fuel cell technology that ultimately will streamline manufacturing methods and reduce equipment costs. Development of a hydrogen storage and delivery infrastructure is also a crucial step in widespread market penetration.

Electrolyzer

As a member of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, ThermalTech Engineering is active in pursuing projects related to fuel cell applications and development of the hydrogen infrastructure. We are currently working with a developer to build a commercial-size demonstration facility capable of generating hydrogen through electrolysis of water. In this project, the hydrogen produced will be used for testing integrated hydrogen storage and fuel cell technologies for building applications or vehicle fueling. Our long-term goal is to gain valuable design and operating experience that, in the future, will help us better support the needs of our forward thinking customers.

For more information about fuel cells and their applications, please call Mark Miller, P.E.
at (513) 561-2271, mmiller@thermaltech.com

Project Spotlight: Good Samaritan Hospital

First All-Variable-Speed Chiller Plant in Midwest

ThermalTech is completing an *Engineer-Led Turnkey^TM* project for Good Samaritan Hospital, the oldest and largest private teaching and specialty health care facility in the Greater Cincinnati area.
PROJECT TEAM: ThermalTech Engineering - chiller plant master plan development, MEP design engineering, turnkey construction mgmt
The Hartman Company - control algorithms THP - structural design Good Samaritan Facilities Staff - construction-phase assistance Process Construction - piping contractor Indrolect - electrical contractor Johnson Controls - controls contractor Fenton - rigging, steel erection PROJECT SCOPE: Develop a long-term plan to increase the plant capacity from 2,500 tons to 5,300 tons to support hospital expansion. Improve system reliability and energy efficiency. Avoid building another chiller plant. FACTS: The chiller plant is located on the 10th floor of a patient tower. The cooling towers are on the 15th floor roof. Space is tight - the three existing chillers and related pumps fill up most of the chiller room. The plant must remain operational during the entire construction period. SUCCESS FACTORS:	Disassembled Chiller Awaiting Rigging Half of a Cooling Tower Cell Being Lifted to the 15th Floor Roof
Developed plan to fit three 1,500 ton chillers in the existing space while retaining one 800 ton chiller Converted primary-secondary pumping to variable-primary, even on existing chillers (saves space, cost, energy) Increased primary pump capacity without expensive pump or impeller replacement (changed motors from 1,200 to 1,800 RPM and used VFD to limit speed to the 300 HP motor rating, 1,400 RPM) Installed open-protocol, web-based digital control system that can be accessed from any web browser anywhere; the system will be the backbone of all future control upgrades	Applied patented Hartman LOOP algorithms to control all of the variable-speed equipment (chilled water pumps, condenser water pumps, cooling tower fans, and the new chiller) using power-based relationships [see All-Variable-Speed Chilled Water Plant for more info] Nearly eliminated the use of basin heaters in idle cooling towers by using heat rejected from the plant Sweeper pipe system keeps cooling tower basins clean; saved first cost and operating cost by only agitating one tower at a time All piping tie-ins completed within 36 hours of a planned 48-hour shut-down using a crew of 25 pipefitters
Portion of Chiller Being Rigged Through 10th Floor Window	Chiller Fully Assembled in 10th Floor Chiller Plant

Project Spotlight: Kellogg's Powerhouse
Boiler Blowdown Cooling System

PROJECT TEAM: Kellogg's - Roy Anderson, Powerhouse Manager ThermalTech Engineering - Bill Widman, Project Manager; Charlie Young, Koert Howland, and Rich DeBat
PROBLEM: Boiler blowdown water needs to be cooled to 140F before draining to sewer system. Original blowdown heat exchanger system had chronic plugging and high maintenance. Kellogg's changed to direct-injection cooling water which still caused plugging and wasted water. Kellogg's requested ThermalTech help in designing and implementing a non-contact heat exchanger designed for ease of maintenance and reliability.
SOLUTION: ThermalTech designed a pipe-in-pipe style heat exchanger utilizing cooling tower water in the outer pipe for the cooling medium. The boiler blowdown water is in the inside pipe (1.5" bore) and each section is easily accessible for cleaning. An RTD is installed in the discharge with a local readout and a visual alarm beacon to signal a high-temperature condition. ThermalTech helped direct the contracted pipefitters through the installation phase and also assisted in the check-out and start-up of the system.	Boiler Blowdown Cooling System
RESULTS: Mission accomplished: the temperature of the blowdown water remains consistently within requirements and no plug-ups have occurred (more than two years run time compared to problems every few months previously!). Use of city water has been eliminated. REGULATORY NOTE: New EPA regulations now prohibit the use of city water injection to cool a waste stream such as blowdown, flash tanks, and other high-temperature discharges in new installations. Innovative solutions such as the system employed here will be needed to comply.

Utility Bill Monitoring Finds $50,000 Credit

During an annual energy-usage and savings-verification analysis, our graphical software tool prominently displayed a significant and unexplainable increase in our customer's electric demand. The event was in one of several buildings we monitor for them. The event lasted only five hours. A small demand excursion is not out of the ordinary, but this anomaly was a 1,500 kW spike, about 50% higher than the normal 1,000 kW peak. The event was not flagged by the utility company's billing software. We calculated the resulting overcharge to be worth about $50,000.

ThermalTech interviewed the facility's staff and reviewed utility logs. We determined that the meter's data stream was corrupted during this time period and the utility had used estimated values. We negotiated with the utility company for over a month and obtained our customer a credit of $50,000. Knowledge of the building systems, an understanding of energy profiles, and a customer who recognized the value of analyzing the data enabled ThermalTech to find and resolve the error.

Accumulating detailed data is a first step in achieving more efficient facilities. Taking the time to interpret and understand the data is what pays big dividends. Hourly historical data has been available from the utility companies for several years for all large facilities. Modern digital control systems and power-monitoring systems can collect and present utility data in real time, The key is mining the information. If you don't have the personnel to do it yourself, consider outsourcing. You'll find more than just billing errors. You'll learn new information about how your buildings are functioning and achieve greater efficiency as well.

What's New at ThermalTech?

ThermalTech welcomes the following new professional staff:

Ruth Bailey

Ruth Bailey has joined our Cincinnati office. She has twenty years experience in plumbing design and construction document preparation.

Jason Buero

Jason Buero, a recent grad from Western Michigan University, joined our Michigan office as a mechanical engineer. He comes to us with five years experience with utility and facility design projects.

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When responsiveness is important to your business, ThermalTech personnel can be reached 24 x 7. Just call our regular phone numbers anytime and we'll get you the help you need.

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