GBS Team Receives DDC Training

Credit: Nathan Gauthier Andrea Ruedy Trimble of OFS learns about DDC controls from FMO's Greg Kousidis

In October 2009, the Harvard Office for Sustainability’s Green Building Services (GBS) team completed an 8 hour Direct Digital Controls (DDC) training delivered by Harvard Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO). Digital controls and a Building Automation System (BAS) allow operators to control their buildings in an efficient manner. The GBS team learned how to monitor and trend points in the BAS (such as valve positions or thermometer readings), set schedules (for occupied and unoccupied times), identify and address alarms (such as filters that need to be changed), and generally familiarize themselves with all of the features of the Siemens Citrix software most commonly used at Harvard. Innovative energy saving strategies such as demand control ventilation, which varies the amount of fresh air delivered to a room according to the levels of carbon dioxide in the space, are only possible with the help of DDC and a BAS.

The training was conducted by FMO foreperson Greg Kousidis using a curriculum developed by FMO in collaboration with OFS. The course uses a DDC simulator created by Greg and his co-workers that is a full mock-up of all common pieces of HVAC equipment found in a building, including fans, heating and cooling coils, thermostats, humidity sensors, and much more. All five members of the GBS consulting team attended the class, which is part of their professional development efforts to continue to offer high quality energy auditing, building commissioning, and green building design, construction, and operations support to the University’s Schools and Units.  After the training, GBS coordinator Jessica Parks said, “The ability to track performance over time is a very important element when looking at a building’s systems and their effectiveness concerning energy savings and environmental conditions. Looking at these reports allows for the discovery of anomalies, alerting a building manager of a system malfunction or occupants unaware of how to use and/or adjust a system in their spaces.” GBS co-manager Jesse Foote had similar sentiments and a tribute to poet Robert Burns, “The best laid schemes of heat recovery and scheduling often go askew if they aren’t programmed correctly or if a setpoint is mistakenly changed, leaving nothing but inefficiency and grief, for promised savings!”

FMO uses the simulator to keep their building operators knowledgeable about the systems they work with around campus, helping to reduce energy consumption and lower peak demand. The group is also able to educate others around the University to help Harvard meet its greenhouse gas reduction goals. As GBS coordinator Kevin Bright notes, “Direct Digital controls and Building Automation Systems are invaluable tools to help Harvard University reach its greenhouse reduction goal. The DDC training will help our team ask better questions in project meetings, as well as recommend better solutions when auditing existing buildings.” Kevin and his teammates will use this training as they work with Harvard’s Schools and Units to support sustainability projects campus-wide.