T4 Engineering - HVAC Page

HVAC and energy are forever linked at the facility level because you can't have HVAC without energy. Did you know that most large investor-owned utilities went on a spending spree in the mid-1990's and bought dozens of mechanical and electrical contractors? Have you ever stopped to think about it? Originally, the big utilities reasoned that since the M/E contractors were out in the field and dealing with customers firsthand, they would have your ear when it came time to shopping around for clean, reliable power. Branding. A PPL electron would trounce a GPU electron any day! And don't even think about those expensive PECO electrons! And how could those contractors make a profit without utility-grade support?

The contractor experiment was a painful lesson. Utilities were now the high cost and high bid supplier. The guaranteed rate of return protected by tariffs and the PUC was not a sure thing in the real world. In 1993, PP&L's motto was "PP&L will be the energy supplier of choice." And the mechanical/electrical contractors would enter your facility and prepare you for the electron sales force. Markets and competition being what they are, this didn't last.

Getting back to HVAC, why should you care? Because all of that equipment needs energy to operate. And you probably have a sophisticated direct digital control system attached to the on/off switch. But who is maintaining all of this equipment? Did anyone ever sit down and run through all of the possible stop/start/fault/power outage/schedule scenarios? Or did you trust your contractor to get it done because it works now?

T4 has evaluated 6 different national controls vendors. Inside and out, up and down, through and through. Bacnet, LON, Excel Plus, DeltaNet, Apogee, Facilitator, Metasys, CSI, AB, xBSi, ... Do any of those acronyms sound familiar? Do you find yourself thumbing through a 100-page manual with that new variable speed drive and wondering why the device AND the controls company both do the same thing? Would you like some practical advice?

T4 has experience with performance contracting and has evaluated the business case for outsourcing v. inhouse staffing to achieve cost savings and performance enhancements. T4 also has established business relationships with the best-of-breed national contractors and can cite the benefits/drawbacks of using local contractors.