providing design details can save an owner
approximately 5% - 15% in energy costs.
Building owners are spending more money on complex building
systems than ever before and yet many find they have building
system problems. Providing design details on construction documents
can reduce these problems and save money. Design details increase
the likelihood that designs will be correctly implemented in the
field, reducing change orders and saving first costs. Using design
details to specify an optimized system can also save energy and
other operating costs.
For example, it is not uncommon for the connection between a duct
and a supply plenum to be shown as a square (representing the
plenum) with a line connected to it (representing the duct). A
literal interpretation of this connection may result in a fitting
with significant pressure loss. However, a simple expansion of the
duct at the connection point by a bellmouth fitting can cut this
pressure loss by 50% or more. This can translate into hundreds of
dollars in annual energy savings for numerous fittings in a large
air handling system. Attention to design details can improve
performance and efficiency in almost all aspects of a design.
Design details are particularly important for:
- Piping and duct arrangements that minimize the number of
fittings and bends.
- Pipe and duct fittings that minimize frictional losses.
- Fan and pump discharge conditions that minimize losses.
Although the energy savings for each detail may be small, the
combined effects in a commercial building are significant. In a
typical building, providing design details can save an owner
approximately 5 to 15% in energy costs.
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