EF Education Center Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Treatment

In 2005, EF Education asked Bluestone Energy Services to help reduce energy costs at its 200,000 sq. ft. facility in Cambridge, MA. Bluestone designed a comprehensive upgrade which included major surgery on the HVAC systems. The existing HVAC system consisted of individual air handling units (AHU) on each floor equipped with direct expansion (DX) cooling air handling units rejecting heat to a condenser water loop /cooling tower system. The system upgrade consisted of converting the DX cooling to central plant chilled water cooling by changing out the AHU coils and adding efficient variable frequency drive centrifugal chillers to the system. Other changes included the installation of Electronically Commutated (ECM) Motors in place of the inefficient fractional horsepower motors in the fan powered boxes throughout the building and Building Automation System (BAS) upgrades. Ventilation air was controlled through the use of a building wide CO2 monitoring system and the addition of restaurant hood controls that reduced exhaust and makeup air during periods when the grills and ovens weren’t being used.

Bluestone's comprehensive energy efficiency treatment significantly reduced energy consumption as well as improve comfort and operation issues. Systems were balanced, appropriate ventilation was provided to each space and hot spots/cold spots were eliminated.

Project:	Convert DX Colling to Central Plant Cooling, Install ECM's in Fan Powered Boxes and BAS Upgrades.
Annual Electricity Savings:	2,900,000 kWh
Utility Incentives:	$600,000
Simple Payback:	2.7 Years