Optimization Measures for Sporting and Special Event Facilities: Design and Operation

Abstract

Reducing unnecessary building energy costs is becoming more of a priority. Rising fuel prices and a global emphasis on energy efficiency are key contributing factors. This push towards energy efficiency certainly applies to today's athletic and special event facilities. High customer expectations and corresponding large operating expenses have helped to make energy conservation measures more of a priority in the facilities design. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in sporting and special event facility present a unique challenge to Continuous Commissioning (CC) engineers. In such facilities, high occupancy and equipment loads occur at the design load condition, but only a small fraction of the designed capacity is necessary for routine operations. On the other hand, during games and other events, system performance is critical. Therefore, significant savings potential exists, but care must be taken to avoid compromising the peak load operations. Maintenance uncertainties, equipment wear, and lack of operator knowledge all combine to affect the building operating costs. Continuous Commissioning, a process developed by the Texas A&M Energy Systems Laboratory, addresses issues such as these and proves very worthwhile. An overview of multi-purpose arenas and their usage will be given, and potential optimization measures and Continuous Commissioning of these facilities will be presented, along with some illustrative examples.