TECHNICAL REPORTS
TECHNICAL REPORT 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Technical Report 1 evaluates the degree to which the additions to the Sunnylands complex comply with ASHRAE Standards. The additions include four new buildings in the North-West corner of the existing site owned by the Annenberg Foundation Trust in Southern California. The four new buildings entered construction in September, 2015.
The basis for this evaluation is ASHRAE 62.1-2010 Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality as well as ASHRAE 90.1-2010 Energy Standard for Buildings except Low Rise Residential. These ASHRAE Standards establish minimum requirements for mechanical systems and design in new construction in America. While the additions meet these standards for the most part, there are some exceptions. Some exceptions are due to discrepancies between ASHRAE Standards and Title 24, the required building standards specific to California.
Through the evaluation of ASHRAE 62.1-2010 criteria generated in this report, the four additions to Sunnylands' campus comply or exceed minimum requirements established by ASHRAE. The current mechanical design of the building adequately protects the health, safety and overall well-being of those who inhabit the space.
Additionally, the additions to Sunnylands' campus are in compliance with the requirements established by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010. All of the cooling, heating and ventilation equipment meets or exceeds the required standards. One area to note is the lack of compliance with building envelope. One of the buildings added to the Sunnylands campus, the Administration building, exceeds the amount of glass allowed by ASHRAE. However, the design team has taken efforts to combat the negative effects of excess glass.
TECHNICAL REPORT 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Technical Report 2 discusses the building and plant energy consumption for the buildings being added to the Sunnylands complex in Palm Springs, California. The information for this report has been obtained from architectural drawings from O2 Architecture as well as mechanical drawings from HGA Architects and Engineer. The gathered information was then analyzed using Trane Trace 700.
Through Trane Trace 700, the buildings at Sunnylands are modeled and analyzed for peak design loads, energy consumption and the operating costs for a year of use within the buildings. All assumptions made in the modeling process were influenced by assumptions stated in the design documents provided by HGA. If adequate information was not provided in the design documents, ASHRAE Standard 62.1 was consulted as well as load information provided in manufacturer cut sheets for individual elements in the spaces.
Each space in the conditioned buildings was modeled individually for this report due to the small size of the buildings. Each room is documented and assigned to the systems which service each building. The buildings are all served individually (no central plant was used on the campus) and therefore, each building has its own set of AHUs and heaters. The heating loads in the buildings are taken care of by electric heating while the cooling loads are treated with an air-cooled condenser.
For simplification in this report, not every building on campus will be discussed individually. Instead, the Administration Building (which is the most complex of the additions to the campus), will be examined in full and any calculations or information about the other buildings on campus can be found in the Appendix.
The loads calculated through the use of Trane Trace 700 are relatively low in comparison to the loads that are expected on site. The main building already on site (not a part of this design package) was also modeled through Trane Trace 700. The loads in that building are approximately 15-25% higher than those estimated through the energy model even after an updated model was created in hopes of finding more accurate ways to model design conditions in this design package. For this reason, the low estimation in the Trane Trace 700 model generated for the use of this report in comparison to the actual design is to be expected.
Through the use of Trace 700, the Administration Building is projected to 113,585 Btu per square foot per year and cost $1.52 per square foot per year to operate and maintain. This result is difficult to analyze in terms of accuracy since the additions to the Sunnylands are still under construction. However, an approximate comparison to the existing building can be made. The current building on site is comparable to the administration building in terms of its uses. The main difference between the spaces is the number of electronics outputting heat in each space. The existing building currently would operate at approximately $1.85 per square foot per year if it were connected to utility services instead of on-site power. This cost is very slightly greater than the cost to operate the Administration Building which is expected due to their different load types.
TECHNICAL REPORT 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Technical Report 3 is third of three reports and is an examination of the benefits and draw backs mechanical design currently in place on the Sunnylands campus. Additionally, Technical Report 3 describes a complete breakdown of LEED documentation and projected LEED accreditation. Additionally, this report reiterates the conclusions and relevant information presented in Technical Reports 1 and 2.
The occupants of Sunnylands campus, the Annenberg Foundation Trust, desires the additions to the Sunnylands campus are meant to be innovative, environmentally conscious and user friendly. A major component of meeting the goals set forth by the owner is a strong mechanical system. In order to be innovative, the systems employ non-standard air distribution methods in the main office space. By designing a system minimal water consumption, the mechanical design is conscious of the droughts that have been plaguing California for years. Additionally, with smaller zones and adjustable thermostats in the open office area, the occupants get the final say in the way their environment feels.
The four buildings being added to Sunnylands’ campus are served individually, without a central plant. Despite the efficiency benefits of a central plant, the cost of installing more equipment as well as the distribution paths from the central plant to the new buildings on site far outweighed the efficiency benefits. Therefore, a new rooftop unit and VRV outdoor unit has been selected for every new building. All buildings are served with preconditioned air from the rooftop units and then distributed into an open plenum where it can be taken into a fan coil unit and treated further to meet the needs of the individual zones.
Finally, the owner has requested that all new buildings on site be LEED accredited. Since the Sunnylands campus is heavily in the public eye due to its intended use, there is a social obligation to design the additions in an environmentally conscious way. Since the LEED metric is one of the most easily understood, recognized and accepted means to quantify environmental impact, the owner has requested the buildings be designed with the LEED scoring methods in mind. Therefore, for in this report, a LEED analysis is performed for the four buildings being added to Sunnylands campus using the version 4 scorecard. Through this analysis, it is predicted two of the buildings being added to the Sunnylands campus will achieve LEED Silver, one building will achieve LEED Gold, and the final building will achieve LEED Platinum.