River serves as inspiration for energy source in student competition

ATLANTA, GA, August 1, 2007 -- Student designers turned to the Hudson River as an energy source in transforming a New York City distribution center into a biotech research laboratory as part of ASHRAE's 2007 Student Design Competition.

This year's competition featured architectural design as well as selection and design of HVAC&R systems. The goal was to turn an existing building in a biotech research facility complete with labs, office space, equipment, mechanical penthouse space, and a vivarium (an enclosure for keeping plants and animals alive in their natural habitat for observation purposes).

First place in the HVAC system selection category is awarded to Kevin Chow, Brandon Damas, Jeremy Fowler, Brandon Frey, Brendan Gleason and Ben Willey from Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. Their advisors are Julia Keen, P.E., and Fred Hasler, P.E.

The students selected open-loop geothermal heat pumps, extracting water from the Hudson River as a heat source, with heat pipe heat exchange units recovering sensible heat only to avoid cross contamination between the outside air and lab exhaust airstreams. The students note that this system eliminates the need for a boiler, cooling tower, and chiller.

"Overall, the greatest benefit realized by the owner will be due to the efficient nature of the geothermal heat pumps and the heat pipe heat recovery unit," the students said. "Geothermal heat pumps utilize natural heating and cooling energy from the river, reducing the amount of natural resources consumed for operation. This minimizes the impact on the environment when compared to other systems by reducing the carbon dioxide gas associated with burning fossil fuels."

First place in the HVAC system design category goes to Gary Schrader, Jeremy Saddison, Ryan Larson and Chad Gydesen of Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Mich. Their faculty advisor is Douglas Zentz.

Their design features a geothermal heat pump plant, using the Hudson River as the heat sink, considered a water-to-water heat pump system. Both the lab and office systems will use total enthalpy wheels to recover sensible and latent heat from the exhaust air streams to pre-condition the outside air needed for ventilation.

"Using a water source heat pump plant along with variable air volume air handlers with total energy recovery wheels proves to be the most energy efficient when looking at total energy consumption," the students noted. "The system also was the best in terms of sustainability and green design."

First place in the architectural design category is awarded to Stuart Johnson and Grant Helmkamp of Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Mich. Their advisor is Daniel Faoro.

The students selected a cellular approach to their design, due to the nano-technology and biology research uses. The design allows mechanical systems to be grouped together to minimize unused space between walls and provide efficient systems, according to the students.

"The opportunity to express the mechanical systems on the exterior is evident in the tall mechanical chases," the students noted. "The mechanical chases contain the exhaust system and wind turbines to provide alternative energy. The exterior is intended to complement the existing building. The laboratories are designed to express their function from the exterior; the use of translucent cladding, which illuminates the labs and renders them visible to the street."

Awards will be presented at ASHRAE's 2008 Winter Meeting Jan. 19-23 in New York City. Winning student groups will each have a poster presentation to display their projects at the meeting.

The competition recognizes outstanding student design projects, encourages undergraduate students to become involved in the profession, promotes teamwork and allows students to apply their knowledge of practical design.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 50,000 persons. Its mission is to advance through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.

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