Overview
P2S was contracted for the design of a new 45,000 square foot library building at L.A. Harbor College. P2S provided mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineering services for the new building which houses both open reading and stack areas, conference rooms and faculty offices. The building was designed to seek LEED™ Silver certification.
Challenge
The new library presented P2S engineers with a number of challenges including providing users with flexibility and ease of use for the various systems, maximizing daylighting for energy efficiency, minimizing environmental impact by maximizing efficiency of the systems and executing the project within budget and schedule.
Action
As the MEP and technology consultant, P2S was responsible for engineering, design and construction administration of the entire project. Key to P2S in meeting the goals and objectives of the project are the following design features:
Mechanical system
- An underfloor air distribution system takes advantage of thermal stratification and maintains that stratification by insulating the underside of the second floor
- Fan energy consumption is substantially minimized through a supply and return system running static pressure at less than 2.5” w.g. and 0.75” sp w.g. respectively
- For additional zone controllability, the building is provided with VAV under floor diffusers including some constant volume units that are manually adjusted.
- Variable volume system with CO2 monitoring sensors
- Air handling systems included roof mounted custom VAV air handling units and fan coil units with reheat coils and sound attenuation
- The air handlers serving the first and second floors are Variable Air Volume (VAV) with a bypass section and damper
- Dehumidification is done through the cold deck section and the unit supply air temperature is controlled by modulation of the bypass damper
- Chilled water and heating hot water is supplied to the building from the campus central plant.
- Controls include building management DDC
Electrical system
- 4.8kV service to the new building
- Distribution transformers and panel boards were housed in individual electrical rooms on each floor to meet the power and lighting demands of the building.
- Emergency power was provided through a centralized inverter system housed in the electrical room
- Energy efficient lighting was provided with occupancy sensors and multi-level switches control most light fixtures
- To maximize energy efficiency, photo sensors were used along with dimming ballasts to provide automatic light dimming along the windows
- To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offset energy usage from the grid, P2S incorporated a roof mounted photovoltaic (PV) system
Plumbing system
- To reduce water consumption and maximize savings, the restrooms utilized low-flow water fixtures and waterless urinals
Results
LA Harbor College now has a building that is 20% more efficient than standard buildings. The P2S design team met all project goals and today the building has proven to reduce carbon emissions by 100-tons annually. The project is slated to receive LEED™ Silver Certification.
