International. ASHRAE unveiled the winners of the Engineering Skills Challenge Competition for students.
The 2015 Design Competition focused on a three-story office and classroom building in Doha, Qatar, while the applied engineering challenge was the design of a portable, collapsible conditioned shelter for the treatment of heat illness victims. 39 teams representing 10 countries participated in the event. First place for the HVAC System Selection was assigned to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
After comparing HVAC system options, the team selected a water source heat pump system that uses a closed loop of seawater. The system has the lowest lifetime cost of the three systems considered. The seawater loop is a sustainable energy source with a low environmental impact. The quality of the indoor environment and comfort are easily maintained because the system can be adjusted within the building.
The system showed an energy improvement of 44 percent over the baseline. It was projected to cost $3.8 million over a 50-year period, which is $695,000 less than the option of a variable volume air handler system with thermal ice storage and $220,600 less than the option of a dedicated outdoor air system with fan coil units and thermal ice storage.
The first place of HVAC Design Calculations is for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. To meet the peak cooling load of 157 tons, the students designed a thermal ice storage system, which allows reducing the size of the chillers to 100 tons by supplying the thermal load. Although the ice storage system increases the initial cost, it is shown to reduce the cost over the lifetime due to the decrease in the initial cost of the chiller and in the energy used during peak demand hours during the cold season.
First place in the Integrated Sustainable Building Design category went to the Portland State University team. The team worked on the integration of the location site, building orientation, envelope components and mechanical systems to achieve a net zero energy approximation of the building. The building's location site was selected based on wind direction, public transportation, and proximity to the Persian Gulf to take advantage of any naturally cooled air. For the design of the mechanical systems, they chose a combination of radiant beams with a dedicated outdoor air system, energy recovery fans and thermal storage.
First place for the Applied Engineering challenge went to California Polytechnic State University. The team chose a pentagonal structure with air bed and cold pad inside. The structure was cooled with a portable air conditioning unit with evaporative cooling option for dry climates. The walls of the store, doors and ceiling are finely insulated, and also have air spaces and layers of nylon material for shade. There is also a transparent plastic observation window.
