Energy Management Professional Certification Virtual Seminar

May 5-6, 2021
2:00pm – 5:00pm Eastern
Earn 6 AIA LUs
REGISTER NOW

The Energy Management Association (EMA) will conduct a virtual seminar for its Energy Management Professional Certification (EMP) on May 5-6, 2021, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Eastern.

This two-day, six-hour course provides an overview and refresher on energy management and how it can be applied. The unique program incorporates EMA’s commissioning-based approach to energy management that maximizes energy savings and optimizes building performance. This course is optional for EMP Certification candidates. Approved candidates may take the EMP exam at one of 900 local testing centers.

Topics include:

• Planning Effective Energy Management
• Managing Energy Information (utility, weather, etc.)
• Implementing the Energy Management Program (including ongoing commissioning)
• Managing Budgets and Finances (audits, forecasts and procurement)
• Implementing Energy Efficient Projects (including M&V and evaluation)
• Managing Energy Communications

The EMP Certification is accredited by the American National Standards Institute and recognized by DOE’s Better Buildings® Workforce. The EMP qualifies for audits under ASHRAE 211 and is also recognized by utility incentive programs and local energy benchmarking, disclosure and retrocommissioning laws. Attendees of the EMP Seminar will earn 6 AIA LU continuing education credits that are widely applicable for various engineering-related certifications and licenses, including the CxA certification.

You asked, we responded…Again!

(Washington, D.C., February 17, 2021)—The AABC Commissioning Group (ACG) is offering a livestreamed version of its popular Certified Commissioning Authority (CxA) Workshop followed by a live 1-hour online Q&A session with its instructors to allow further explanation of concepts introduced in the recorded workshop.

Event:                                             On-demand CxA Workshop & Live Q&A Session

Sponsor:                                         AABC Commissioning Group

When:                                             April 1, 2021, workshop livestream at 11:00 AM Eastern; Live Q&A at 2:00 PM Eastern

Registration Information:                Registration ACG website; for free ACG Guideline visit here. Telephone: (202) 737-7775 

The prerecorded, 3-hour workshop will cover all aspects of commissioning ranging from project management to functional testing, and both new and existing building commissioning. It is recommended for the video to be watched prior to the live Q&A session with instructors. The event takes place on Thursday, April 1, with a livestream of the 3-hour workshop at 11:00 AM Eastern, follow by the live Q&A session at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.

Registrants for the event can choose to either watch the workshop and Q&A session only or bundle it with a specially priced exam package. Up to four AIA Learning Units (LUs) can be earned by attendees for continuing education purposes.

The CxA program achieved ANSI accreditation in 2017, and the credential is also a recognized certification by the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings® Workforce Guidelines program, ensuring that the CxA is considered an approved commissioning credential for all federally funded projects.

The CxA certification is the premier credential for independent commissioning providers. It demonstrates you are an experienced commissioning provider with a complete understanding of the commissioning process and with the ability to ensure that the intent of the building owner is achieved.

For More Information

Read/Download Press Release

Utilizing a Distributed Data and Computing Architecture in Analytics Applications

Thursday, March 2, 2021,
1:00pm (Eastern)
Pending approval for 1 AIA LU
FREE REGISTRATION

Abstract

The Energy Management Association and their Associate Members SkyFoundry and BASSG are hosting a free webinar panel with Altura Associates and ATS Automation. It will outline the benefits of implementing a distributed architecture in analytics, which Alper Uzmezler, BASSG, called “the future.”

The first generation of analytics solutions were designed with the requirement to transmit all data from equipment systems to the cloud or centralized servers where analytics and the generation of visualizations and reports would then be performed. However, there is tremendous value in recognizing the strategic impact of distributing analytics at different layers of our data networks and efficiency to be gained.

It may not always be possible or necessary to transmit every piece of data from every IoT device to the cloud before being able to gain value from that data. To realize the full benefits of analytics and the promise of the IoT, systems need to embrace the highly distributed nature of facilities and equipment systems by providing an architecture that enables data acquisition, analytics processing and control to occur where it is most efficient, cost effective, and reliable.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the concept of a distributed, edge-to-cloud analytics architecture
• Understand the benefits provided by implementing a distributed architecture
• Understand the use of a distributed architecture in multiple real world applications
• Understand analytics-driven control at the edge

Who Should Attend?

• Commissioning Providers
• Building Owners & Facility Managers
• Energy Managers
• MEP Engineers
• HVAC Testing Professionals

Sponsored by

SkyFoundry: SkySpark Analytics automatically analyzes data from smart devices and equipment systems to identify issues, faults, deviations, and anomalies enabling improved performance, reduced downtime, and operational savings

BASSG: BASSG has been an innovator in Building Automation Technology and BAS Analytics delivery that reduce implementation and facility management energy costs. Through in-house developed easy-to-deploy, multi-system software tools, BASSG branded OEM products and multiple distributorships, BASSG can be a one-stop provider for everything BAS at an unbeatable value, significantly lowering implementation and maintenance costs.

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Conference Will Again Feature Industry Leaders and a Stellar Program for Commissioning & Energy Management Continuing Education

For Immediate Release
Contact: Anna Kosova (202) 737-7775, anna@commissioning.org

(Washington, D.C.)—The AABC Commissioning Group (ACG) announced the preliminary technical program for the premier event in commissioning, energy management, and building testing & analytics today. CxEnergy 2021 takes place April 20-23, 2021 in Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel.

CxEnergy draws hundreds of the nation’s leading commissioning experts, energy management professionals, MEP engineers, HVAC test and balance professionals, facility managers and building owners. Presentation topics include:

• Case studies in commissioning and energy management in buildings and facilities (particularly featuring the owner perspective)
• Market sector case studies (e.g. education, health care, data centers, alternative care facility, etc.)
• Remote energy management
• Understanding Emergency Power System Commissioning (preview of ACG Commissioning Guideline 3rd Edition content)
• Advances in building automation and control technologies 
• Fire & life safety systems commissioning
• Fundamentals+ of test & balance for engineers, Cx & energy providers
• Commissioning case study of the ASHRAE Net-Zero Energy Headquarters
• Smart water management
• Distributed energy resources (renewables, microgrids, storage etc.)
• Commissioning requirements in building energy codes (ASHRAE 90.1 and IECC)
• Conserving energy through building enclosure commissioning

CxEnergy attendees earn AIA (LU), USGBC LEED General Education, CxA and EMP continuing education credits for presentations.  The credits are widely applicable for other certifications and professional licenses (attendees should check with their certification or licensing body). View the preliminary program on the CxEnergy website.

More than 100 videos from previous CxEnergy presentations are available on the CxEnergy YouTube Channel.

The CxEnergy Expo Hall showcases a wide variety of products including controls, software, instruments, metering devices and services targeted specifically to commissioning, energy management, engineering and testing firms. The CxEnergy Exhibitor Prospectus is available here. Event information and the latest updates and online registration are available at https://www.CxEnergy.com/

CxEnergy is presented by the AABC Commissioning Group (ACG), the Energy Management Association (EMA), and the Associated Air Balance Council (AABC).

The editor of Engineered Systems (ES) recently interviewed ACG Members Wade Conlan, PE, CxA, Hanson Professional Services and Justin Garner, TBE, CxA, Engineered Air Balance Co., Inc. in The Percussive Maintenance Podcast.

Wade Conlan, PE, CxA, is the Commissioning Discipline Manager at Hanson Professional Services, certified Commissioning Authority (CxA) by the AABC Commissioning Group (ACG), and a member of the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force.

“The commissioning provider, to me, is perfectly suited to help owners during their reopenings. And that’s because, inherently, their job is to look at systems’ energy and comfort performance, see how they’re operating, and see how they could be operating more efficiently and effectively. Also, when dealing with labs and health care, safety becomes a greater concern. So, it’s a perfect marriage of trying to understand the systems and determining how you can modify them to add in mitigation strategies to increase ventilation, increase the effectiveness of certain filters, and implement cleaning technologies with a goal of creating a potentially safer space for occupants.

We will continue to talk about how you can design, operate, balance, and setup systems to be able to mitigate the virus at ACG’s CxEnergy 2021 on April 20-23 in Fort Worth, Texas.”

Click here to read and listen to the full interview and subscribe to the Percussive Maintenance Podcast.

Justin Garner, TBE, CxA is the Vice President of Engineered Air Balance Co., Inc., member of the Associated Air Balance Council (AABC), Chair of the Certification Council of the AABC Commissioning Group (ACG), and a member of the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force.

“It Takes a team! What ASHRAE is recommending is that you have a test and balance firm on board to help you with those measurements, maybe even a building and commissioning provider to help with control side of things, test and balance firm maybe can handle that. And if you are really going to be making changes to the system maybe even a design professional as a part of that team, along with potentially contractors and other folks like that. But the biggest take away there is bring the right kind of people to the team!” Click here to listen to the full interview and subscribe to the Percussive Maintenance Podcast.

“Now more than ever, as occupancy levels fluctuate during the pandemic, building analytics can help FMs fine-tune equipment to run efficiently.”

Jessica Wilson and Derek John Mullassery, both from EMA Associate Member CopperTree Analytics, share four things you could consider during the pandemic and post COVID-19 to ensure that your buildings are being operated safely and efficiently.

In this article, they remind us that it is important to ensure that your building analytics platform is configured with ground realities in mind, so that they can be used for not just AFDD and energy reporting, but also compliance reporting.

Read Full Article

The ACG Commissioning Guideline Revision Committee has been working hard on revamping our comprehensive look at the commissioning process. The new Guideline will cover all aspects of Cx from the design phase to occupancy, as well as in-depth best practice guidance designed to help providers get commissioning done in the real world, and system-specific commissioning information.

ACG Building Systems Commissioning Guideline under development is by shifting the focus of the guideline to presenting best practice narratives for executing the process. These practical guides will offer insight and strategies from experienced providers on a variety of topics, designed to help providers get commissioning done in the real world — effectively and efficiently — while overcoming common challenges.

Guideline sections will cover topics including system-specific commissioning guidance, approaches for accomplishing key commissioning goals, managing processes, directing resources and producing valuable commissioning deliverables.

This article by Brian Marsh, PE, Smith Seckman Reid Inc., Nashville provides a sneak peak of the portion on building enclosure systems (BECx).

Ken Sinclair, Founder, Publisher, and Owner of AutomatedBuildings.com
spoke recently with Mike Kelly, TBE, CxA, American Testing, Inc., Incoming AABC President about the state of the industry and new & revamped AABC programs.

Questions asked include:

• How has COVID-19 affected the testing, adjusting, and balancing industry?
• What can industry professionals expect from the AABC Virtual Annual Meeting’s technical agenda this year?
• Industry Partner Program: What’s in it for controls companies and manufacturers of equipment and systems commonly tested in a TAB scope?

Click here to read the full interview.

About AutomatedBuildings.com: Since 1999 AutomatedBuildings.com has been an online magazine and web resource. We provide the news and connection to the community of change agents that are creating our present definition of smart, intelligent, integrated, connected, green, and converged large buildings. Our virtual magazine and web resource provides a searchable platform for discussion and exchange while creating opportunities for B2B for all new and existing stakeholders.

Revealing Hidden Costs In Hydronic Cooling And Heating Systems

Tuesday, October 27, 2020
2:00 PM. Eastern
Pending approval for 1 AIA LU
FREE REGISTRATION

Abstract

This presentation focuses on proven opportunities to improve the performance, decrease the energy usage, and reduce the operating costs of chilled water, heating hot water, and glycol systems. Included is a review of how air present in a hydronic fluid reduces the heat transfer capability of the fluid and all heat transfer surfaces it contacts, reduces pump performance, and causes system-wide corrosion of ferrous materials. The content features case studies documenting system performance improvements, energy efficiency increases, and water treatment chemical reductions after removing air and the associated corrosion from these systems. Discussion will include data presented in industry white papers, manuals, and guidebooks that quantify the negative impact of varying levels of entrained air on pump performance.

The presentation will also address the results of an extensive energy modeling and financial analysis evaluating the increased energy usage and associated costs due to air in chilled water and heating hot water systems. The financial analysis includes various metrics related to utility cost and non-utility cost savings linked to effective air and dirt elimination from hydronic cooling and heating systems. This exercise utilized actual case history data developed over several decades in a multi-iteration modeling exercise of a prototypical facility, with the building modeled in five different U.S. cities. Each model was adapted to address site-specific weather data and energy rates and the building/system modifications required for ASHRAE 90.1 compliance for each location.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone involved in the ownership, management, design, installation, operation, energy analysis, project management, commissioning, test and balance, maintenance, or service work related to hydronic cooling and heating systems.

Learning Objectives

• Gain a better understanding of the negative impact air and dirt in a hydronic fluid has on the performance, energy efficiency/consumption, maintenance of any cooling or heating system
• Learn to identify symptoms and sources of air in hydronic systems
• Understand the capabilities and limitations of various air and dirt elimination technologies
• Identify the utility cost and non-utility cost benefits and savings associated with effective air and dirt elimination

Speaker Biography

Stephen Clinton, PE, LEED AP draws on more than 27 years of broad national and international industry experience in his role as the Director of Business Development for Spirotherm, Inc. He is a Professional Engineer, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a previously certified Medical Gas Inspector who designed and managed the design of healthcare, research laboratory, and higher education projects throughout the United States and China during his 19-year tenure as a consulting engineer. Multiple higher education projects which he designed achieved LEED Gold and Silver Certification. Stephen actively engages numerous market sectors throughout North America.

Presented by

Spirotherm, Inc. manufacturers the industry leading high efficiency Spirovent® coalescing type air elimination products and its extended line of Spirotrap® dirt separators. A wholly owned subsidiary of Spiro Enterprises, Inc., we have been developing and manufacturing products to improve water quality in the HVAC industry for 50 years. Sizes from 3/4” to 36” pipe, flows to over 30,000 GPM for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional applications. By eliminating air and dirt from these systems, we protect the investment in high efficiency boilers, chillers, and other system components, while eliminating many maintenance items that have been considered routine. A system free of air is able to maximize heat transfer systemwide, which saves energy and improves overall system performance. Spirotherm is an EMA Associate Member and Exhibitor of CxEnergy 2021.

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