Hawaii Building Engineers Association

News and Events

This month will be our quarterly meeting on the 19th of April. Cooling towers will be discussed and we will have a speaker on daylight harvesting self dimming ballasts. We hope that everyone will invite thier friends and associates to attend. the meeting starts at 10:30 and ends at 12:30. RSVP by 12th of April call Barbara at 531-0444.

The association will be sending out flyers for the upcoming training that will be offered. basic electricity, basic air conditioning, advanced electrical, advanced air conditioning. we will also be offering motor alignment classes and refrigerant epa classes.

EMERGENCY LIGHTING

Emergency Lighting guidelines and and recommendations to consider when planning a commercial emergency lighting system.

When it comes to commercial building design, often asthetic lighting choices receive the most attention. however the most crucial element of a building's lighting scheme is emergency lighting. during emergency situations where the normal lighting system fails, emergency lighting provides adequate lighting levels and direction to permit a safe exit from the building, or for situations that do not require exiting, this lighting provides security and comfort for the occupants until the general lighting can be restored.

Due to the importance of this type of lighting, the National Fire Protection Agency  and the National Electrical Code contain numerous requirements for commercial emergency lighting systems. To meet these requirements and to plan an optimal emergency lighting sytem for a building, experts recommend many design, equipment, installation and maintenance protocols.

A SIMPLE WAY TO BALANCE AN AIR SYSTEM

When a building has been properly air balanced, the primary evidence to the occupants is that the rooms are all the same temperature. If you’re in the field without your air balancing hood, one way to test a building is to check temperature balance.The test procedure is quite simple. Test the temperatures in each of the rooms. If they’re all within two degrees of each other, the building is balanced. That’s it in the proverbial nutshell.

Of course, you must expect that The Doc is going to tell you there’s more to it than that. I will not disappoint you! So let’s take a closer look at a temperature balance and see how it really has to be done in the field.

Book / Product review

Lighting Upgrades: A guide for facility Managers. by Damon Wood.

The book walks through the process of retrofitting and upgrading lighting in lighting systems. with the purpose of increasing both energy efficiency and savings. extremely well - organized and comprehensive in scope, this fully illustrated desk reference provides a virtual "crash course" on all aspects of lighting in the workplace. going beyond the fundamental principles of quality lighting, the author also addresses lighting impact on conservation, productivity, and occupant safety. topics examined in detail include lighting quality, upgrade strategies, lighting applications, current technologies, lighting economics, effective maintenance, lighting project implementation and strategies for assessing energy and cost savings opportunities.

FIX MY PROBLEM

After buying a building without doing the properly inspecting it very well. The cooling tower started to experince problems with the evaporation of water. The engineer opens the door to the cooling tower discharge and finds a fern garden growing in the top of his cooling tower. how should he remedy this prooblem?