MIT BUILDING 18

B2Q was tasked with performing an ASHRAE Level II audit and recommissioning study of Building 18, a chemistry building and one of the largest lab buildings on campus. MIT noted that they had converted all of the 100+ fume hoods to low flow variable volume and had rebalanced the building several years earlier, but the building's energy performance was still greater than expected.

B2Q brought in a service technician to evaluate the state of the lab air valves and associated controls, as well as to the test the airflows for a sample of fume hoods. We also did a lab-by-lab assessment of the design air balance and control set points to document and analyze a number of different lab configurations. Based on the results of this testing, as well as the results of our traditional energy audit, B2Q identified (9) new energy conservation measures with energy savings potential in excess of $300,000.

Energy conservation measures included repairing and upgrade lab air valve controls, reducing fume hood minimum airflows, adding occupancy controls for the lab air volumes, adding occupancy controls for non-lab temperature controls, adding heat recovery for the 100% outside air air handling units, adding EC motors for certain terminal devices, and upgrading an aging process chiller.