by Ann Withanee — February 25, 2011—ATI AirTest Technologies announced that its proprietary carbon monoxide (CO) sensor-based garage ventilation system achieved a 93.9 percent kilowatt hour (kWh) savings and 95.7 percent reduction in peak kilowatt (kW) demand at a 220-car parking garage in the heart of San Francisco’s financial district. Engineers for the regional utility, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), verified the savings.
Nagle Energy Solutions (NES), a leading green-technology consulting, sales and installation company, sold, designed and installed the system at 600 California Street, which is owned and operated by Boston-based Beacon Capital Partners.
“The combination of AirTest’s innovative technology and Nagle Energy Solutions’ ventilation strategy and project design, including accurate power-consumption measurements and detailed calculation methodologies, is exceptional,” said Alfred Scaramelli, Senior Vice President for Beacon Capital Partners. “They delivered exceptional energy savings.”
The CO sensor-based, demand control ventilation (DCV) system utilizes a proprietary, smart-control logic that detects and measures vehicle fumes in the garage space and then modulates fan speeds to prevent CO levels from exceeding 10 parts per million (ppm) for extended periods of time.
This enables it to consistently achieve greater energy savings—up to 95 percent—than traditional “on/off” sensor based ventilation control systems while better ensuring the health and safety of building occupants and visitors by providing continuous ventilation.
The 600 California Street garage is ventilated by five (5) exhaust fans totaling 130 horsepower (HP). Combined, the garage fans consumed 241,655-kilowatt hours (kWh) and 91.62 peak kilowatts (kW) per year at an annual cost of $25,100. Post-installation data logging by PG&E engineers showed AirTest’s smart-control logic and the NES ventilation design achieved an annual energy savings amounting to 226,899 kWh and 87.7 kW in demand reduction. That represents a 93 percent reduction in kWh consumption and a 95.7 percent decrease in peak kW demand when operated on the recommended time schedule.
Upon verifying the energy savings, PG&E issued a $21,500 rebate to 600 California Street property management. The garage DCV system will pay for itself in just 22 months, and Beacon Capital Partners’ annual cost(s) to ventilate its garage will drop by $23,600—a 94 percent decrease.
For more information visit the AirTest Web site.
