American University

At a glance

American University, Washington D.C., University

Public building

Area: 58,572 m²

Product: meteoviva climate

American University (AU) brings meaningful change to the world. As part of AU’s strategy to improve energy efficiency and achieve carbon neutrality, the Energy & Engineering staff is pursuing a number of solutions. This includes the implementation of meteoviva climate at the McKinley building.

Challenge
Washington, D.C., experiences a variety of weather patterns. Temperatures can shift rapidly. For example, the temperature can go from 70 degrees and sunny to 30 degrees and windy within 24 hours. On occasion, the building experiences situations where one zone needs cooling while others require heating from the same AHU. These factors pose a daily challenge to the control system’s optimization.

Solution

meteoviva’s engineers first performed a detailed analysis of the building to identify the necessary controls. Data points were logged to allow meteoviva climate to control the HVAC equipment.

We examined the characteristics of all areas of the building to create a proper zone map while minimizing implementation costs. The result was a map of 25 zones, with 73 data control points and 206 data log points. With that input, the building model was assembled on the meteoviva platform and calibrated to start operations in the building. The portal gave a quick view of all set points, such as supply temperature, forecast, room temperature, return temperature, and historical values.

Results

Energy consumption and costs were reduced dramatically. In one year of operation, the savings exceeded the cash outlay for the installation. The system identified several issues that AU was able to address promptly, such as the simultaneous activation of heating and cooling control valves in multiple air handling units. The Energy & Engineering staff heard positive feedback from their most important clients: the faculty and student body.