Sustainable Aspects
Sustainability can be defined as the ability to maintain at a certain level or rate. For this project, the sustainability goals were to capture the sensible heat energy from the oven exhaust that was being released to the atmosphere and use it to provide heat to the facility production areas, as it was a source of wasted thermal energy. To satisfy this goal the team has designed an AHU that captures 47,000 cfm of exhaust air, introduces outdoor makeup air into the system and production facility as well as integrates a heat recovery system. The design of the make-up air and heat recovery run around loop arrangement is a feasible method to recover sensible heat energy. The AHU design either has the exhaust airstream remote to the supply/outdoor airstream or the exhaust airstream contains high level of contaminants making it suitable to use in heat recovery methods.
From Sæplast…
“As we strive to minimize the impacts of our products and operations, we are focused on helping our customers meet the most ambitious sustainability goals.”
Social Sustainability
Social sustainability is a process for creating sustainable successful places that promote wellbeing, by understanding what people need from places they live and work. By correcting the pressurization in the building, the employees will not only have no issues opening and closing doors, but the addition of the AHU to the facility will heat and cool the space, keeping the indoor temperature setpoint at 20℃ with a tolerance of 2℃, and a relative humidity setpoint of 40% with a tolerance of 10%. This satisfies the initial requirements of the project. Additionally, the design includes MERV 8 prefilters and MERV 13 final filters. These filters are being implemented as they comply with the newest standard ASHRAE recommendations that mandate these filters in HVAC systems. These filters will keep the air clean that is entering and leaving the AHU, stopping large and small particles and debris from entering the system or the production spaces. MERV 13 filters are also recommended to be installed in air handling units as of recent as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic according to 2020 ASHRAE Journals. These guidance’s along with solving the pressurization issues and maintaining a comfortable work environment adheres to social sustainability and will improve the quality of life of the employees.