Final Report
Final Report
April 1, 2019
The Student Success Center and Rowan Campus at Burlington County are the primary areas of focus of this report. Over the course of the year, energy use and existing conditions of the Student Success Center were studied and analyzed. Existing mechanical systems, ASHRAE requirements and code, and energy use were the three primary goals of the first semester. After reviewing this information and looking into the rest of Rowan’s Campus, it was apparent that there was a central plant that supplied the Student Success Center and a few other buildings on campus. The proposed design suggested upgrading the plant to combined heat and power.
The potential for CHP was the focus of the depth study. It was important to gather all the data from the central plant and understand its function. After analyzing the usage and costs, the goal was to determine if CHP was beneficial to this site and pick a logical system. Multiple systems were looked into, but overall, one should be selected as a recommendation. Energy use, cost, and emissions will all be considered in the selection.
As for the breadth topics, the electrical redesign was focused on the new CHP design. The proposed design would require some changes to the electrical distribution on the campus as it exists today. After selecting a CHP design, it was important to show the practicality of distributing the electricity to the rest of the campus. The current distribution will not be as efficient if the central plant is upgraded to combined heat and power.
Therefore, the goal was to propose a redesign for the electrical distribution that allows the central plant to distribute the generated electricity.
The last breadth topic was an acoustical study of the atrium of the Student Success Center. The building has a mechanical mezzanine that is above the second floor. The study focuses on the noise levels in the atrium since the mechanical room and atrium share an interior wall. The air handling units are also very close to the atrium, so the sound levels were looked at within and outside of the ducts. The primary goal was to determine if the current conditions are acoustically sufficient.
Note: While great efforts have been taken to provide accurate and complete information on the pages of CPEP, please be aware that the information contained herewith is considered a work‐in progress for this thesis project. Modifications and changes related to the original building designs and construction methodologies for this senior thesis project are solely the interpretation of Kyle Tarves. Changes and discrepancies in no way imply that the original design contained errors or was flawed. Differing assumptions, code references, requirements, and methodologies have been incorporated into this thesis project; therefore, investigation results may vary from the original design.