Cx Associates provided commissioning services for the renovation of this three-story historic mansion. The systems included in our commissioning were HVAC, domestic hot water, lighting and lighting controls. We identified a number of issues during the commissioning process, including variable refrigerant flow controls that didn’t meet specified sequences of operation, an isolation damper that was not opening properly to allow outside air into the heat recover unit, and water pooling around the roof top units. The identified issues were resolved, removing the potential for future issues.

Cx Associates was retained by Maine Medical Center to provide an engineering assessment for optimizing the replacement of AHU-44, which is at the end of its expected service life. We recommended an advantageous solution and provided a design narrative for use in pricing. We provided services throughout the replacement, by evaluating hospital spaces and programs, space conditioning and ventilation requirements, performing submittal reviews, and developing the final sequence of operation. To round out the project, we will conduct site work to review the installation and operation.

Cx Associates conducted a retrocommissioning qualification study for the chilled water plant at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. Our review of the facility focused on its chilled water plant, the BAS, as well as pumps and the cooling tower. Our study resulted in four measures we recommended to the owner. These four measures resulted in estimated annual savings of $17,000, which would result in a payback period of just 1.4 years.

Cx Associates worked with Efficiency Vermont to complete a retrocommissioning (RCx) process of nine Air Handling Units (AHU) at Northwestern Medical Center (NMC). The nine AHUs analyzed in this RCx study served several areas of the 200,000 square foot medical building including operating rooms, surgical services, ICU, PCU, laboratories, cafeteria, office spaces, and the emergency department. In addition to the original scope, we identified three further items during the implementation phase of the work that would give additional savings of over $9,000 per year. The final RCx report indicates savings of over $33,700 per year.

We provided design and sequences of operation for an upgrade to Fanny Allen Hospital’s aging Building Automation System (BAS). This upgrade resulted in an increase in the facility’s Energy Star score from 15 to 31. Our team based our design on the not-yet-released ASHRAE Guideline 36 and implemented leading edge efficiency measures in the control of the HVAC systems.

Cx Associates provided commissioning services for construction and post-occupancy phases of the master facilities and chiller plant upgrades. The overall project was comprised of three separate projects: the ICU/Medical-Surgical addition, which included twenty new single occupancy patient rooms; the main entrance and lobby renovation, which included the outpatient clinic addition and contained multiple exam rooms; and a new standalone medical office building.

Cx Associates supported the project by acting as commissioning agents as well as performing project engineering of the control sequences.   Our work also included developing specifications and sequences of operation, verifying performance of the new equipment in the field, and estimating the energy savings for use by the local utility to facilitate a significant rebate for the project. Cx Associates completed a comprehensive and highly successful upgrade to UVMMC’s McClure HVAC system that resulted in energy savings of over $100,000/year for the facility.  This project also increased the effectiveness of the building operations team by giving them the tools they need to efficiently operate this complex system.  In addition, the system will experience significantly less downtime for repairs and maintenance costs in the future.  

Retrocommissioning Your Building for Big Savings

Cx Associates worked with the owner of the Howard Opera House building in Burlington, Vermont, and the Burlington Electric Department (BED), to address issues related to the building's aging HVAC infrastructure. The four-story building in downtown Burlington was built in 1879. Over the years, it has housed a department store, an opera house in the upper floors, and various other commercial and office spaces.