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  • Home
    • What's New
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  • SketchUp Models
    • SketchUp Resources
    • Bureaucratic Affairs Building HHW System Logic Exercise
    • Bureaucratic Affairs Building Scavenger Hunt
    • Chilled Water Plant System Diagram Exercise
    • The HIjend Hotel >
      • Chilled Water Plant Scoping Exercise
      • Ballroom AHU Scoping Exercise
      • Cooling Tower Scoping Exercise
  • Tools
    • Altitude Correction Factor
    • Economizer Evaluation Checklist
    • Eikon for Educators and WindLGC
    • Effective Duct Length Tool
    • Excel Third Axis Tool
    • Excel Time Value Conversion
    • Insulation Savings Tools
    • Logic Diagram Tool
    • Mixed Air Calculations
    • Monitoring Plan Spreadsheet
    • Pipe Friction Chart
    • Plot Digitizer >
      • Plot Digitizer Pump Curve Example
    • Square Law Spreadsheet
    • System Diagram Symbols
    • Thermodynamic Diagrams Spreadsheet
    • Universal Translator Data Analysis Tool
    • y = (m * x) + b Spreadsheet
  • Useful Formulas
    • Affinity Laws
    • Circular Equivalent Duct
    • Effective Duct Length
    • FT Guide Appendix C
    • HVAC Equations and Concepts
    • Hydraulic Diameter
    • Pump Power and Energy
    • "Square Law"
  • What's That Thing?
    • Cooling Towers
    • Pumps
    • Valves
  • Resources
    • Bill Coad's Writings
    • Data Logging Resources
    • EBCx Skills Guidebook
    • Energy Design Resources
    • Fisher Controls Valve Cavitation Bulletin
    • Functional Testing Guide
    • Honeywell Gray Manual
    • MCC Powers Bulletins
    • NBCIP Reports
    • PEC Tool Lending Library
    • PID Resources
    • Pneumatic Control Resources
    • Resource List
    • Scoping Resources
    • TAB Resources
    • Vintage Carrier Design Manual
    • VRF Systems
    • Williams' Wisdom
  • Videos
    • Bureaucratic Affairs HHW Logic Answers
    • Cooling Tower Flow Variation
    • Economizer Stratification
    • Functional Testing
    • Induction Principles
    • Monitoring Plans
    • Ripple Effects
    • Testing a Pump
    • The Garden of Low Entropy
    • Variable Flow Systems
  • Training
    • Materials from Classes and Presentations >
      • ACEEE
      • ASHRAE
      • ASHRAE - Engineers Notebook
      • BCxA and NCBC
      • BEST Institute
      • Case Studies
      • ERDC 2020 RCx Academy
      • ELPNW
      • ICEBO
      • Marriott AEP
      • Magazine Articles
      • NAVFAC
      • Pacific Energy Center Design, Performance and Commissioning Issues Classes >
        • PEC Class Materials Archive
      • Pacific Energy Center EBCx Project Review
      • Pacific Energy Center EBCx Workshop Series >
        • EBCx Workshop Series 12
        • EBCx Workshop Series 13
        • EBCx Workshop Series 14
        • EBCx Workshop Series 15 >
          • Student One On One Discussions
        • EBCx Workshop Series 16
        • EBCx Workshop Series 17
      • Portland General Electric
      • U of W >
        • U of W Archive
    • On Demand Training >
      • Fans, Ducts and AHUs
      • Induction Motor Principles
      • Introduction to Functional Testing
      • Scope of Work Documents
    • Training Opportunities
  • Contact
    • Copyright and Permissions

ASHRAE - Engineers Notebook Column

I have started writing for the Engineers Notebook Column in the ASHRAE Journal and will post copies of those articles on this page as they are published
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2020 Columns
2022 Columns
2021 Columns
 

2020 Columns

Data Logging Through the Decades
What to Consider When Designing for N + 1
 

Data Logging Through the Decades

This column looks at how data logging has evolved over the 40 plus years of my career and discusses the crucial role data logging plays to this day in supporting the operation of our facilities.
2020-06 Data Logging Through the Decades.pdf
File Size: 2076 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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What to Consider When Designing for N + 1

This column looks at redundancy and discusses how you might need to think of it in broader terms than just having an extra prime mover.   It includes a case study, which was essentially an on-the-fly ongoing Cx effort where considering the system, not just the prime mover led us to a solution to a problem that was costing us $20,000 - $30,000 a year in non-energy costs.   The solution actually cost us a bit of energy, but it was a net win because it eliminated the other costs.  And the other costs had implications in terms of embedded energy and other resources.
2020-11 N+1.pdf
File Size: 2548 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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2021 Columns

It Really Is All About the Lags
Modeling Perfection
 

It Really Is All About the Lags

This article looks at the impact of lags on a control process serving the cooling towers in a condenser water system, a lesson a originally learned by blowing up a duct (this link takes you to a discussion of that significant emotional event).  The resources below provide a more detailed look at the system diagram and control logic I discuss vs. the simplified versions included in the actual article.
42-49_engineers_notebook_sellers_may_2021_print.pdf
File Size: 998 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Detailed System Diagram
The files to the right are a more detailed version of the system diagram for the system discussed in the article.   If you are interested in the concepts and techniques behind this type of diagram, you will find some resources, including a link to a string of "how to" blog posts on the System Diagram Symbols page of the website.
system_diagrams.zip
File Size: 352 kb
File Type: zip
Download File

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Detailed Logic Diagrams
The file to the right contains the detailed logic diagrams illustrated below in the form of an Excel based spreadsheet tool.  You can find out more about the tool and download the current version and symbol list on the Logic Diagram Tool page of the website.
cw_systemexample.xlsm
File Size: 3339 kb
File Type: xlsm
Download File

Option 1 Approach
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Option 2 Approach
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Pneumatic Diagrams
Pneumatic control diagrams provide a less intimidating way to look at control logic compared to DDC programming for some folks.   And the reality is, there are existing buildings out there that still rely on pneumatic controls.   So, I sketched up pneumatic diagrams for the two options for those who find them more approachable.  You will also find a number of pneumatic control resources on the Pneumatic Control Resources page of the website.
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Modeling Perfection

This article looks at a technique I used to identify EBCx opportunities by comparing data from a chilled water plant or a system it serves with theoretical lines of perfection.  Generally, the data cloud should follow the lines and if it doesn't, there are often opportunities to improve performance and efficiency if you can identify the root cause of the deviation, which are often revealed by the location of the errant data relative to the lines of perfection.
print_engineers_notebook_sellers_oct_2021.pdf
File Size: 3424 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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We ran out of space in the article for this table illustrating the metrics behind the model used for Figure 2 so here they are.
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The psych chart illustrates the analysis technique I use to fine tune dry bulb economizer change-over settings to a particular climate and load, which I mention at one point in the article.  You will find a description of how to do the analysis in Chapter - 3 - Economizer and Mixed Air - Paragraph 3.5.6.1. Outdoor Temperature Based Interlock of the Air Handling System Reference Guide that is included as part of the Functional Testing Guide package.
If you are interested interested in the actual spreadsheet behind the Perfect Chilled Water Load model, which includes a higher resolution version of the image above, you can download it using the link to the right.
perfect_chilled_water_load_concept_vweb.xlsx
File Size: 2667 kb
File Type: xlsx
Download File

 

2022 Columns

The Perfect Economizer
TMI About TMY
 


The Perfect Economizer

This column explores a technique I use that is similar to the technique discussed in Modeling Perfection to assess economizer performance.  If I have done a good job in the column, you should be able to build yourself a copy of the tool in Excel or some other application. 
print_engineers_notebook_sellers_april_2022.pdf
File Size: 2649 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

But if you want a head-start on it, the Excel file below is the file behind the illustrations in the article, which are simply Excel charts that plot outdoor air temperature vs. mixed air temperature lines based on the inflection points associated with economizer operation.
2022-02-10_economizer_analysis_vweb.xlsx
File Size: 26947 kb
File Type: xlsx
Download File

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The files below are associated with a letter to the editor that I received regarding this column and are referenced in a blog post I did that discusses the psychrometric process that the author of the letter asked about.
2022-09_journal_letter.pdf
File Size: 6113 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

blank_psych_chart.pdf
File Size: 51 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

 


TMI About TMY

This column explores where the weather data files we typically use for our energy projections come from.
oct2022_engineers_notebook_sellers.pdf
File Size: 6285 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

The spreadsheets below are referenced in the column and contrast different data types for the locations indicated.
atlanta_vweb.xlsm
File Size: 9088 kb
File Type: xlsm
Download File

bethel_vweb.xlsm
File Size: 6178 kb
File Type: xlsm
Download File

honolulu_vweb.xlsm
File Size: 5589 kb
File Type: xlsm
Download File

pdx_vweb.xlsm
File Size: 7382 kb
File Type: xlsm
Download File

phoenix_vweb.xlsm
File Size: 5764 kb
File Type: xlsm
Download File

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This file contains higher resolution images of the figures.
figures_-_final.zip
File Size: 2802 kb
File Type: zip
Download File

These links will take you to some of the weather data resources behind the spreadsheet and discussions in the article.
NOAA NOWData
NREL Satellite Based Data
European Satellite Based Data
ASHRAE IWEC Data
NOAA Bin Data
Canadian Weather Data
NREL TMY2 and 3 Data Archive
Iowa State University ASOS Tool
 

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