Laboratories Best Practices: Minimizing Reheat

Steven G. Liescheidt, P.E., CCS, CCPR

Course Outline

This one hour online course discusses the problem of simultaneous heating and cooling resulting from load variations, and presents several technological and design process strategies to minimize it.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Be able to understand the importance of minimizing reheat in laboratories;
• Be able to understand the impact of load variations on energy use; and
• Be able to understand strategies to minimize reheat.
  
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for mechanical engineers.

Benefit for Attendee

Attendee of this course will be able to better understand how to minimize reheat in laboratory HVAC systems by first looking at alternate HVAC systems during the design phases of a project.

Course Introduction

Equipment load measurements from various laboratories show significant load variation between spaces. This variation can increase energy use in laboratories that have systems with reheat. A simulation analysis showed that the magnitude of this increase varies with location, ventilation rate, and degree of variation. When designing a laboratory HVAC system, it is important to consider load variation in order to better evaluate the energy efficiency of alternative HVAC systems.

Course Content

This course is primarily based on Laboratories For The 21st Century:  Best Practices Guide – Minimizing Reheat Energy Use In Laboratories, August 2005:

Laboratories Best Practices: Minimizing Reheat

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Course Summary

This course material discusses several alternative system types that can minimize or even eliminate the use of reheat energy, including dual-duct-dual-fan systems, fan coil systems, zone cooling and heating coils, and radi-ant cooling. Continuous commissioning is also discussed as an important tool in minimizing simultaneous heating and cooling.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

United States Green Building Council – www.usgbc.com
US Department of Energy – www.doe.gov
National Renewable Energy Laboratory – www.nrel.gov

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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