Indoor Air Quality, Smoke Wave, Wildfire
Meeting that demand requires a clear understanding of the technologies reshaping the industry and how to apply them in the real world. We’ve identified several emerging technologies that should be on every Facility Manager’s radar. We’ve categorized them by their primary impact: Energy and Operations.
A new form of solar panels is officially entering the US market, offering a more aesthetically pleasing alternative to traditional rooftop solar. The European company Roofit.Solar focuses on a technology called building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), where the roofing material itself is the solar panel. These integrated systems minimize visual impact, which is often a consideration for historic buildings or aesthetically sensitive campuses.
Heat pump technology has undergone a significant transformation, overcoming past performance limitations, especially in colder climates. Recent studies, such as those conducted by organizations like the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), confirm their viability and efficacy even in regions with harsh winters, making them a crucial technology for decarbonization efforts nationwide.
Geo-exchange (or ground source heat pump) systems remain one of the most effective ways to heat and cool facilities using the stable temperature of the earth, providing high-efficiency heating/cooling regardless of external weather conditions. The financial viability of these systems has been significantly boosted by the continued availability of federal and state tax credits, which can substantially lower the first-cost hurdle, making the long-term ROI even more attractive. Innovation in this area focuses on optimizing the drilling process and improving heat transfer efficiency to reduce installation costs and land usage. For instance, Minnesota-based Darcy Solutions has pioneered "turbo-charging" mechanisms that utilize the high thermal conductivity of moving groundwater. By drawing heat from an aquifer rather than static soil, these systems allow for significantly fewer wells to achieve the same energy output, maximizing efficiency while minimizing site disruption.
The next generation of Building Automation Systems (BAS) is moving toward smarter, more flexible control architectures. New, non-proprietary controllers, such as those utilizing the EnOcean standard, are entering the market, offering a cheaper and more adaptable alternative to complex, expensive proprietary BAS. While the EnOcean standard itself does not incorporate artificial intelligence (AI), this shift gives facility managers more freedom in system configuration, allowing them to leverage AI and machine learning capabilities to control systems through a smart server. This setup allows for the autonomous reconfiguration of system points and optimization of performance, constantly fine-tuning a building's operation for peak efficiency and minimal energy waste.
The next step beyond intelligent controls is using data analysis to constantly monitor and diagnose the operational health of your building portfolio. These platforms connect directly to your existing Building Automation System (BAS) to continuously ingest real-time operational data (e.g., temperatures, setpoints, valve positions, equipment runtimes, etc.). For example, a platform like ClockWorks utilizes proprietary FDD algorithms to automatically detect and diagnose operational faults and inefficiencies, turning raw data into opportunities for low-cost or no-cost corrections.
These modern systems replace traditional keyways with battery-powered mechanisms, providing detailed audit trails and simplifying access control for staff and visitors. Cutting-edge systems now explore "direct line of sight" non-connected power charging, eliminating the need for complex hardwiring at every door.
Capturing accurate "as-built" conditions for existing facilities has traditionally been a time-consuming and expensive process, often involving professional surveying or manual measurements. Tools like Polycam (a mobile and desktop application) are democratizing this process by leveraging LiDAR and photogrammetry capabilities found in modern smartphones and tablets. The SHG team can partner with your facilities staff to rapidly scan rooms, entire floors, or building exteriors to generate accurate, georeferenced 3D models and 2D floor plans. This allows for near-instantaneous documentation of spaces for renovation planning, capital project management, and simply maintaining a digital twin of the campus.
The recent excessive wildfires raging across Canada have led to a “smoke wave” across the Northeast which encompassed the Lehigh Valley. Yet, situations like the one that played out in the beginning of June are not an on-off event. According to the Canadian Government’s National Wildfire Situation Report, as of June 20, 2023, 385 fires are burning across Canada; 130 are considered uncontrolled, and at this point in 2023, over 5.8 million hectares have burned. Projected weather patterns and the resulting movement of the wildfire smoke indicate there is potential for the Lehigh Valley to be repeatedly impacted throughout the summer by "smoke waves".
Loretta Mickley, a wildfire expert and senior research fellow at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, co-authored a research article defining a “smoke wave” as two or more consecutive days of extreme levels of fine particles called PM2.5, emitted specifically by wildfires. Fine particles are considered especially dangerous because they’re tiny enough to penetrate the lungs and even cross into the bloodstream.
As a result of the ongoing distribution of smoke particles caused by the enduring wildfires, mitigation measures must be enacted. The continual wildfire expansion and subsequent smoke infiltration in the ozone caused the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Monday, June 19, 2023, to declare a Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for the Lehigh Valley. The Air Quality Index rates air quality from green for good to maroon for hazardous, is particularly helpful because it simplifies complex variables that change from pollutant to pollutant and links them to physiological impacts.
The solution for avoiding the fine particulate matter caused by wildfires seems simple, stay inside. Yet, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many internal HVAC systems were upgraded to higher efficiency filters while bringing in additional outside air for ventilation.
COVID-19 protocols for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) suggested filtration and dilution by bringing in as much outdoor air as possible. As a result of the smoke, the guidance is to minimize outdoor air. For HVAC systems, this translates to keeping windows closed, minimizing outdoor air dampers by removing economizer sequences, manually closing dampers and windows, and raising demand control CO2 setting. The particulate matter sensors installed during COVID-19 are not sensitive enough to measure smoke particles, but the CO2 sensors will be effective tools for measuring resultant changes in HVAC sequences of operations.
What is smoke particulate matter and how does it differ from COVID-19 particulate matter?
Are there air filters that can remove smoke particles from the air?
Are there masks that can filter smoke particles?
What adjustments should be made to HVAC systems?
To learn more about HVAC, MERV filters, and their ability to limit particulate matter, click here.
Learn more about The Stone House Group's services here and how each service is designed to be at the forefront of the evolving climate and environmental landscape.
Source:
Wilson, E. J. H., Munankarmi, P., Less, B. D., Reyna, J. L., & Rothgeb, S. (2024). Heat pumps for all? Distributions of the costs and benefits of residential air-source heat pumps in the United States. Joule, 8(4), 1000–1035. Link: https://docs.nlr.gov/docs/fy24osti/84775.pdf
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