Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Building 052 – USDA

CxGBS performed energy audits of four facilities at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. Additionally, retro-commissioning was performed on one existing research facility (Building 052) that had three growth chambers of which one was an indoor system and two were outdoor systems, as well as one being daylit and two others being soil bin chambers.

Indoor growth chambers consisted of an individual water-cooled cooling system connected to a closed loop cooling tower. The two outdoor systems each have their own air-cooled chilled water system that feeds multiple daylit chambers’ individual fan coil units located in the base of each daylit chamber.

CxGBS conducted evaluations of the three growth chamber systems in addition to the HVAC, lighting, and emergency power systems serving Building 052. CxGBS’s evaluation consisted of measuring each system’s performance through a series of test procedures that measured the amount of cooling delivered to each chamber. CxGBS also conducted measurements of the two outdoor systems to determine peak cooling load compared to the total cooling capacity of each chilled water system.

Added value through CxGBS® services:

• CxGBS identified operational deficiencies and opportunities to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and provided cost benefit analysis of each recommendation.
• CxGBS is currently verifying that the repairs and modifications made to the three growth chamber systems meet the researcher’s goals and objectives communicated at the beginning of the project.

TEAM:

Owner:
USDA, ARS

Design Professionals:
N/A

Construction Professionals:
N/A

Commissioning Professionals:
Commissioning & Green Building Solutions, Inc.