The New Alternative Officing Solutions

While such things as computer and telecommunications systems have traditionally been outside the designer's responsibility, they are fundamental elements of alternative design. Designers must become technology-savvy to truly serve their clients and offer real alternative officing solutions.

Work and Life Coming Together

Business people, armed with cellular phones and portable computers, no longer depend on a company office to be productive, and thus can spend more time in the field with customers and on other key business activities. Additionally, a number of people who still go to "the office" on a daily basis reported using their laptops and cell phones to work while traveling, commuting and at home. We're definitely seeing major changes in how, when and where people are doing their work. Whether they work for a big company, a small one, or for themselves, what they need from the company workplace is also changing.

During the industrial revolution, work and the rest of life separated for the first time. Now that we work at home, in our car and just about everywhere else, work and life are coming together again. Because of this distributed work environment, we're much less dependent on our company facility as a place to perform our individual work, and much more dependent on it as a place to collaborate and work in groups.

That clear delineation between work and life is going away. With many employers encouraging their employees to work from virtual and home offices, it's important for the company to provide them with a suitable place to interact. In fact, according to one industry source, almost two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies already have telecommuting programs in place.

Companies make it easy for these virtual and home office workers to interact with others over the internet. But, while we give them the means to converse in both professional and social contexts, people need more than virtual interaction and the company's facility design should be responsive to that need.

Thus, it appears that by one name or another and to one extent or another, alternative officing is here to stay. But, how architects and interior designers will deal with the technologies that make effective alternative office design possible remains to be seen.

The Learning Curve

With a few notable exceptions, most designers I know still view technology as residing outside their responsibility and competence, and generally defer technology questions and decisions to consultants or, in some cases, back to their clients.

Nevertheless, just as a growing number of design firms are realizing the importance of understanding and participating in work process decisions, it seems inevitable that they'll need to develop a similar perspective on technology.

A lot of designers have had a very narrow definition of alternative officing, using it to describe, for example, the extent to which people are home officing, hoteling, etc., when, in fact, techniques like hoteling really only work for a very limited number of jobs. But, alternative officing has a much broader definition. When you start seeing alternative workspace design as including such issues as information technology, work process and culture, and then add in strategic intent, alternative officing becomes consulting, not just design. We're seeing more cases where the CEO is calling in the consultants first, then the architect.

Yet many companies lack either the desire or the resources to add a high-powered management consultant to their facilities team, particularly when they want some of the benefits of alternative officing without reengineering their entire organization.

As a result, they will indeed turn to architects and interior designers as their alternative officing experts. And, while most designers will still need the assistance of specialized technology consultants, a practical understanding of the subject will be critical, particularly if the designer is to function as project leader.

While design firms can't expect to replace (or compete with) the real technology experts, it will be essential for us to develop the knowledge and experience to start the technology discussion, understand its implications, and make informed recommendations. We owe it to our clients.

A growing number of such clients, anxious to increase productivity, decrease real estate costs and develop competitive advantages, are coming to the understanding that technology truly pays off only when seen as part of a bigger picture, a picture that includes both work process and workplace design.

Thus, the widespread acceptance and use of alternative design strategies seems inevitable, presenting the design profession with a tremendous challenge as well as a major opportunity, not just in terms of developing new business, but also in terms of expanding beyond traditional capabilities.

Julian Arhire is a Manager with DtiCorp.com - DtiCorp.com carries more than 35,000 HVAC products, including industrial, commercial and residential parts and equipment from Honeywell, Johnson Contols, Robertshaw, Jandy, Grundfos, Armstrong and more.

Spotlight On Best Practices For Facilities Managers

Some argue that benchmarking and best practices are essentially two sides of the same coin. The search can result in companies in like industries swapping FM information, or one company ferreting out best practices through nose-to-the-grindstone research.

Many measures of success

After hashing out all the semantics and definitions, what, exactly, are some of the day-to-day functions facilities professionals should be measuring? The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) lists items that are typically benchmarked, such as square footage per occupant; building efficiency rates (the ratio of usable space to rentable space); workstation utilization rates; maintenance costs; janitorial costs; utility costs; environmental costs (the costs of providing satisfactory air and water quality, waste removal, and regulatory compliance); security costs; project costs (improvements to or reconfigurations of existing space); overall cost of operations; and occupancy cost. Other benchmarked items include equipment downtime; the percentage of preventive maintenance vs. repair maintenance; and overtime costs.

But benchmarking can extend to other more nebulous FM tasks such as "vendor contracting" and "planning process." Customer-driven benchmarks include response time, cycle time, satisfaction, and downtime. The customer has to be happy, and the culture in different companies is based on senior management's view. Consider what your customer thinks is important. You (the FM) may have an attendance problem in your department that is being benchmarked, but your customer may not know about it, or care.

Look in the mirror

Where should FMs look when collecting data? While gut instinct might tell an FM department to immediately look externally and measure itself against other companies, FMs may want to review their own practices first. For example, a manufacturer might compare the facility operations of its plant in Toledo to its plant in Seattle.

Another benefit of internally focused benchmarking is that companies can zero in on operations that are truly vital. You have to know what's important to your own business. You can't say one benchmark is critical to everyone. Take "equipment downtime," for example. This benchmark obviously would have a different level of importance depending on the company in question. In a company that strives for 24-hour equipment operation, downtime statistics are far more telling than they are for a facility where only some equipment is used some of the time.

Things get trickier when FMs start measuring their department's methods versus outside companies. If they become too numbers-obsessed, FMs can drive themselves to distraction just trying to keep up with the Joneses. Critical benchmark indicators can vary by industry or market sector and can even vary within an industry, based on local conditions, business culture, geographic location, and age of facilities. As a result, the major focus of benchmarking should be on the process not the numbers. If you know exactly what you do, then you can look at other companies' numbers and see how they got there.

Measuring only cost is a losing approach.The better approach is to compare practice. The payoff is not in the cost, it's in the process. The facilities profession is to hung up on square feet. The only people who should care about square feet are real estate people. The better measure for FMs and senior management is 'cost per head' or 'cost per seat'. When you move up the chain of complexity, that's where benchmarking data starts falling apart.

The best in class for facility operations is a difficult concept. For example, allocating the least amount of space for offices may be best in class in terms of efficient use of space, but it may have a detrimental effect on employee morale and productivity.

What's in it for me?

The original impetus for benchmarking was the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement, in which tangible measurements and hard data were often the yardsticks used. But now people are doing it for more experiential reasons. They are benchmarking for the same reason they go to conferences - to learn.

Furthermore, facilities professionals, who may not be particularly adept at corporate politics, can't be shy about trumpeting their benchmarking efforts. Today's facility management professional must be able to promote and market his contributions to the organization.

List of customer-oriented marketing initiatives that can be undertaken by facilities departments:

• Involve facilities departments in employee orientation;


• Publish FM department newsletters for clients and management;

• Offer facility tours and presentations;

• Use surveys, report cards, customer interviews, and focus groups to evaluate the facilities department's performance.

The good news is that senior management may be willing to invest in benchmarking and best practices. They're building it into their budgets. It's hard for senior management to say 'we don't want to compare ourselves to our competitors'.

Benchmarking is only half the job. After the best in class practices are identified, the organization must be ready to implement them. Too often novice FMs stop the process after comparing their performance with others and learning they are ahead.

Maybe not quite perfect, but benchmarking and the adoption of best practices can help facilities departments get a better handle on both operations and customer service.

Julian Arhire is a Manager with DtiCorp.com - DtiCorp.com carries more than 35,000 HVAC products, including industrial, commercial and residential parts and equipment from Honeywell, Johnson Contols, Robertshaw, Jandy, Grundfos, Armstrong and more.

What Does Internet-Enabled Mean To The Average Construction Professional?

Expanding your usage of Internet tools, like intranets, will bring your business new opportunities to work smarter, and in certain cases, generate new revenue streams.

Is it something that must be provided for and demanded from software providers?

Not necessarily. Software providers can pre-package solutions only within certain parameters. Three parameters that stand out are value, scope and time.

The first parameter, the perception of value, means if you can get Internet software for free that is developed for the masses, will a vertical market like the AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) industry be willing to pay for AEC focused Internet tools? This is a tough question for software providers to answer as the perception in the AEC market is that Internet software should remain free, no matter what the added value. Large software vendors like are addressing this issue by integrating Internet technologies within their traditional software offerings. As for fully developed solutions that you can purchase off the shelf, they do not exist yet.

Internet technologies are not just about software. So software providers that claim total solutions are not telling the entire story. The second, and more important element, of integrating Internet technologies within your business is Cultural. The ease of use and low initial cost of implementation make the cultural shift into the Information Age (aka: Internet-enabled) an easier shift than any previous Information Technology phase we have gone through as an industry. But just because it's easier, does not mean that it's without its difficulties. Getting your business to adopt to performing their traditional jobs electronically can be a daunting task. Add into the issues that the majority of AEC work is performed remotely outside the office, and you have a huge challenge.

Another parameter is scope. The Internet and its associated technologies are best implemented when you combine business goals (ie: communicating more effectively to the field) with the proper level of technology (ie: an Internet connection to the field). This brings a difficult level of detail to the software vendors. If there is no one way that all businesses perform tasks, than how do you write computer code to handle all possible scenarios? The Internet allows you to quickly and easily perform functions of your job without the need for proprietary software. But it does make sense that certain tasks, like CAD production, become Internet-enabled by your existing software.

An additional parameter is time. If Internet technologies change on the average of every 12 weeks, how can an established software vendor react to the changing technologies in a timely manner. Getting AEC-specific Internet products to market is a major hurdle that our existing AEC software manufacturers are struggling with. One solution that is being considered is software distribution over the Internet as a download. The complex issues of traditional software and other software team members will have to be addressed before this means of getting tools to the AEC community can be addressed in earnest.
Are there different levels of Internet-enabled that a contractor should look for?

There are three distinct levels of Internet-enabled that a contractor can benchmark themselves to.

One: Computer-Aided Business

Our industry began its integration of Information technology by embracing computers to automate manual tasks. We began to use computers to write letters, compose specifications, electronically draft through Computer Assisted Drafting (CAD) and numerous other tasks that we used to do manually. This period of technology expansion has been known as Computer-Aided Business. While a necessary first period of evolution, the Computer-Aided Business model has limitations. During this period, individual's create digital information available to only themselves on individual computers. This has lead to "Islands of Automation" within our business environment. In the Internet environment, this can be related to a company putting up a Website that acts as an electronic brochure.

Two: Computer Integrated Business

The next evolutionary step can be called connections. We bring our "Island's of Automation" together by allowing computers to communicate with each other through computer networks. By connecting our different computer hardware, different software programs, and different locations, we pull together a collective knowledge that we could not have had using traditional methods. We are beginning to see computer integration's infinite power and value by connecting different locations through the Internet. As we, and the technology, mature through time we ask the technology to perform tasks that can not be accomplished manually. Technology brings with it new ideas and thoughts on how we can perform our tasks more productively and efficiently. As we become more comfortable with technology, we allow it to integrate into our businesses. We begin to utilize the potential of technology beyond traditional methods. This period of growth is known as Computer Integrated Business. No longer are we held captive to traditional manual solutions to problems within our business. We begin to expect that the technology will provide a solution.

Three: Information Based Business

The final phase is when technology becomes transparent to the business. During this period, it's no longer a strategic competitive advantage to have the latest and greatest computer hardware and software. It's expected as a natural fact. The use of technology and information during this phase becomes as transparent and factual as the four walls that define the office. This final goal is known as the Information Based Business. The simplification of hardware, software and connectivity brings to you and your business the true power of information technology in a cost and time effective way. Applied technologies such as Intranets and Extranets are the forerunners of this concept. Web-enabled Construction Documents are an outgrowth of this concept. The implications of "live" specifications and drawings by linking information in your computer, on your network and on the Internet are already being utilized by firms worldwide. Implementation of Virtual Private Networks (VPN's), Virtual Job Trailer's and Electronic Plan Rooms are also the results of an Information Based Business.

What industry trends will make the use of Internet-like media critical to the majority of the construction profession?

The integration and coordination of distributed, digital project information is one of the great challenges to our industry. This has been exacerbated by the growing use of the design/build method of project delivery where timely information is critical to the overall success of the project and its team. The Internet brings a cost-effective and powerful solution to every person on the project team, no matter what level of computer-literacy one may have.

Just competition?

Competition is always a driver to adoption of concepts into action. Of course, if your main competition has found a competitive advantage by using Internet technologies, you will adopt these technologies yourself. But a more important driver is Internet usage as a requirement by owners and clients.

Owner/operator involvement?

A remarkable trend that has come to the forefront in the past few years are the announcements from major corporate clients that knowledge of how to use the Internet is now considered a requirement to continue to do business with them.

The only team member that will directly benefit from implementing Internet technologies on a project is the owner. The time saved by using these technologies directly affects the overall production of the building. In other words, the quicker the owner can occupy the building, the more aggressively the solution will be implemented. The different ways you can implement Internet technologies within your own business will be the differentiating factor between you and your competition.

What are the limitations of the Internet today and how will those be resolved in the near future?

Two major limitations are perception of The Internet's capabilities and bandwidth.

Too much hype and not enough AEC business adaptation have hurt the image of the Internet. Having a Website doe not guarantee business growth. Only through a carefully planned strategic Internet/Information Technology plan can a business hope to leverage the power of the Internet. It will not be leveraged by "Brochure-ware" Web sites, but by implementation into the everyday process of each AEC business. This problem is being addressed and led by owner/clients who are requiring these technologies, just to remain doing business with them. It's remarkable how fast a technology will be adopted and cultural issues go away when a client requires a technology.

What are some other ideas regarding the implementation of the Internet?

There are 10 powerful emerging trends on our industry that the Internet is having a direct effect:

1. Client IT Demands/ Project Extranets
2. Value Migration
3. Construction Information Management (CIM): Systems Integration
4. Powerful Remote Devices
5. Paper Is Not Going Away
6. Virtual Private Networks
7. Architectural Information Systems (IS) as Profit Centers
8. IP Addressable Objects
9. Franchised AEC Service & Information Centers
10. Wireless access

Julian Arhire is a Manager with DtiCorp.com - DtiCorp.com carries more than 35,000 HVAC products, including industrial, commercial and residential parts and equipment from Honeywell, Johnson Contols, Robertshaw, Jandy, Grundfos, Armstrong and more.

HVAC Improvements For Existing Buildings – HVAC Retrofits

One way to identify tenant needs in existing buildings is to note what architects and designers are trying to create for clients in new buildings. The objective for a new building is to provide the ideal office space. Tenants are often looking for space that can address such issues as flexibility, modular space planning, environmental considerations and individual temperature comfort. A particular hot spot for many national tenants is to gain the highest level of productivity from their employees. This usually means the building will need plenty of HVAC zones, flexible office hours and point-of-use supplemental systems. These factors point to a flexible and often programmable HVAC system that can meet tenants' needs.

Architectural trends can also create new loads and requirements for an HVAC system in an existing facility. More natural light can increase heat loads; atrium designs can obstruct air distribution; additional zones can increase the overall volume of ventilated air needed, the quantity of heat to be rejected and the amount of outdoor air required. If a building doesn't have a flexible HVAC plant, then modifications or upgrades to the HVAC system will be necessary to compete with new building design and technology.

One factor that must be considered in any analysis of a possible retrofit is that an HVAC upgrade usually means that the building has to be brought into compliance with current codes. Some codes are based on prescriptive regulations; however, the trend to create a safer and healthier indoor environment can also bring new performance requirements. For example, over time, the percentage of outdoor air has gradually been increased, and current requirements may call for more outdoor air than many buildings have the capacity to condition. Bringing the building up to code may require a significant investment in upgrades beyond those originally planned.

Making Retrofit Decisions

HVAC systems are major energy users, and new HVAC technology is far more efficient than 15 to 20-year-old systems in place in buildings. In some cases, the energy savings alone are so substantial that they justify the upgrade investment. But in many commercial office buildings it can be difficult to justify an HVAC upgrade. Perhaps some upgrades have been performed over the years, reducing the energy savings now available. Or perhaps the owner has a too short a payback-period requirement for energy upgrades.

When energy savings alone do not clearly justify an upgrade, how does the facility executive responsible for a commercial office building determine whether and how to upgrade the HVAC system? It is best to start with the building profile. A relatively small or mid-sized building (less than 200,000 square feet) may present marketing opportunities not available to larger facilities. For instance, instead of converting a constant-volume system to variable-air-volume (VAV), it might be possible to make each floor a separate zone. The marketing plan could then be changed to focus on larger, whole-floor users with large bullpen work areas that do not require multi-zone improvements.

In a medium or large-sized building, upgrade options will depend more on the type of system already in place. If the base building system is a constant volume system, with the main fans delivering varied air temperatures to large sectors of the building, there isn't much choice. To serve the varied needs of today's tenants, the facility executive will need, at a minimum, to increase the zoning abilities. How this is accomplished depends on the building's design and business plan.

For example, new speculative office buildings sometimes install heat pumps, which can deliver heating or cooling to small or large zones, are easily programmable, and operate at about 50 cents a ton per hour. But is the first cost for installing heat pumps a good value for retrofits? Probably not if the building was configured as a constant-volume or multi-zone system. Using heat pumps would require running condenser piping throughout the building and changing the fresh air distribution; what's more, the actual conversion could not run parallel to the old system if this retrofit was attempted in the summer because the cooling tower would be reused.

In this case, options for conversion should be limited to a VAV conversion or to individual zone diffusing that does not reduce energy costs but does create comfort zones similar to VAV systems. VAV systems provide a constant temperature to the space, but the air volume varies with the comfort setting. If the building was constructed after 1975, it probably has some type of VAV system installed. The earlier systems did provide easy zone creation; however, after-hour and flexible operation were usually not part of the operating system.

The most difficult VAV retrofit decisions are the ones where the payback related to energy reduction has already been captured by vortex dampers or by the later addition of variable frequency drives. If the facility will not receive an initial influx of energy savings, HVAC retrofits will have to be justified based on increased flexibility, after-hour operation and supplemental cooling. The facility executive must spend the time necessary to understand the overall value to the asset from a marketing standpoint.

It is important that all values are considered when making the decision. More is involved than just the cost of energy. There will be other gains that are not so obvious. A new cooling tower or new chiller not only operates with less kilowatts per ton, it also has new heat transfer surfaces, better part-load abilities and generally reduces maintenance requirements. The amount of labor and maintenance required to service a temperamental HVAC system can be quite a surprise once it is segregated from general operating costs.

The facility executive must also look at the useful life of the existing system. Will there be parts available next year? Is there a service company that will be willing to support the system? If a decision is made to sell the building will the system be flagged as unserviceable? Can the system still be used when a big block of space comes up in two years? These are all questions to ask when a system is facing obsolescence and when reliability of building systems becomes a factor in the marketplace.

There are other building details that sophisticated tenants are aware of or will become aware of if they enlist a good tenant representative or broker. Consider a broker with a client that is considering an existing building over the brand-new building across the street. The potential tenant is concerned with the condition of the HVAC system and requests the following information:

• Is the ductwork and distribution system clean? Please offer some verification.


• How is the insulation attached? Is it interior or exterior fiberglass?

• Is sound batting provided?

• What is the zoning per terminal?

• What are the temperature setpoints of the zones? How many zones are in my space?

• What is the noise level of the terminals?

• Can we control the perimeter zones of the offices separately?

• Is there any asbestos on the HVAC system, piping or ceiling?

• How can I operate after hours and what is the cost per hour?

• If I want to add some additional servers, is there a tenant tower for condenser water?


• What are the watts per square foot and the cubic feet per minute of ventilation air?

• What am I guaranteed in the future?

• How will I be billed for use of my after-hour heating and cooling?

In the last few years, tenants have been even more concerned with the office IAQ (Indoor air quality) environment. The more important the staff is to the operation, the more concern for the users' welfare. Tenants are asking more questions like these:

• What is the outside air ratio?

• Where does the outside air for my area originate and can you achieve 100 percent economizing?

• Do you have a proactive plan for indoor air quality complaints?

• Do you allow smoking?

• Do you have pressurization, smoke tower, stairway pressurization or smoke exhaust system?


• Are there any negative air situations in this building and does any of the air come from infiltration?

• Is there any redundancy to the heating and cooling systems?

• What is the origin, quality and reliability of the electrical service supplying the building HVAC system?

Competing for Tenants

Potential tenants may also want to see the property's preventive/predictive maintenance program, or to review the energy or computerized maintenance program to determine what occurs when the building operates outside its design parameters. This is when a facility executive must know the market. Can the property afford not to retrofit? Very often an energy payback exercise will show the project being way off the owner's target. But the analysis must also take into account lease-up value, tenant retention, cash flow and ultimately overall asset value. If a property is competing with a state-of-the-art VAV building with lower operating costs and greater flexibility, where are the tenants most likely to go?

In a landlord's market, a building with an outdated HVAC system may do all right. In a tight market, with a lot of available space, that property may either have to reduce rent, offer concessions or decide to give tenants what they really want: An HVAC system that is flexible, usable, efficient and able to provide comfort and good indoor air quality for employees.

Julian Arhire is a Manager with DtiCorp.com - DtiCorp.com carries more than 35,000 HVAC products, including industrial, commercial and residential parts and equipment from Honeywell, Johnson Contols, Robertshaw, Jandy, Grundfos, Armstrong and more.

State-Of-The-Art Design And Technology Can Meet Both Energy And Comfort Demands

The CFC phaseout has forced facility executives to take a hard look at their HVAC systems. At the same time, current technology offers significant opportunities for energy savings from the heating and cooling system, typically the second-largest energy user in commercial facilities. On top of all that, the definition of comfort has evolved rapidly over the past decade.

At one time, HVAC systems satisfied the comfort issue by simply making sure the work area was warm or cool enough for most occupants. Now, comfort is being refined to include indoor air quality and outside air exchange.

All in all, it's a tall order: The HVAC system is expected to achieve comfortable conditions for the individual and the masses in the office without harming the delicate global atmosphere. A good example is the CFC phaseout.

Facility executives have three choices: contain CFCs in existing chillers, convert existing units to alternative refrigerants or replace existing machines. Installing new high-efficiency equipment can result in significant energy savings.

Modern HVAC equipment offers improved efficiencies, which are being achieved with better motor performance and better temperature splits in the refrigerant tubes. Today's HVAC systems also offer better part-load efficiencies than older models. Multi-stack units and horizontal screws run more efficiently at part-load levels than earlier models. The economizer bundles are better than they used to be, so the systems run more efficiently.

The recent improvements in chiller efficiencies are the result of refinements in many small places. Manufacturers have done it by better designed compressors, by improving heat transfers. Every component has been reengineered.

New materials, notably plastics, offer major potential for increased HVAC advances that end up benefiting building owners and managers. New materials make units more efficient, easier to install and more corrosion resistant. HVAC systems are becoming more component oriented so they can be put in after the building is built.

Resolving IAQ via HVAC

One of the biggest challenges facing facility managers today is how to meet ASHRAE's current standard for outside air exchange. Variable air volume systems and normal applications need to be reexamined to meet ASHRAE fresh air standard.

To maintain energy efficiency and meet the new standard, multi-zone air-handling systems may need some overhauls. The normal unit has two decks -- one for warm air and one for cool. Provided air is mostly being recirculated, the two decks work effectively.

With the larger temperature differences involved with increased outside air, a neutral zone also may be needed. In a triple-deck system, the outside air is brought by the heat exchanger to that neutral point, before entering the air stream. The result is returned efficiency to the HVAC system in its heating and cooling modes.

Another promising solution is the use of dessicants to pre-condition air without mechanical cooling.

For buildings undergoing major retrofits, the building's air should be tested before renovations begin. Establish the levels of existing contaminants, if any, so that you have a point of reference. After renovations, the air quality should be retested. Periodically, additional IAQ tests should be conducted.

What should building owners do when indoor air actually is better than outside air, as often is the case in buildings located adjacent to major airports? Filtration for gaseous contaminants can play a major role in cleaning the building's air. The health care industry already is aware of the importance of air filtration in controlling the spread of airborne pathogens. But other building owners are just beginning to recognize the importance of proper filtration systems.

Custom comfort

Many advances have been made in HVAC control technology during the past decade. One of the most recent is the ability to control air flow, temperature and even air quality at individual workstations. Because of metabolism and dress in the office, women often complain that they are too cold, while men are too hot.

Advances in DDCs and control systems give us tools to get better air as well as energy conservation from HVAC systems. Everything now is automatic. We can set certain parameters for temperature and humidity with the outside air economizer.

And we can do so much more with the system to protect the health of the people inside the building. For example, if there is a fire and the smoke-detection system is activated, the HVAC controls can stop the air-handling system and start exhausting smoke from the space while alerting local fire and alarm departments.

Electronics in HVAC systems are becoming more integrated with each other: The air-handling unit knows how much is needed from it, and the chiller knows what each air handler is doing and can adjust itself accordingly.

Further refinements in HVAC system controls are on the near horizon. For example, comfort control that relies on more than the temperature to measure a space's overall comfort currently is being investigated by researchers, consulting engineers, ASHRAE and building controls manufacturers. Sophisticated comfort control sensors are being developed that will take into account not just the dry-bulb temperature of today's thermostats but also the mean radiant temperature, air velocity and humidity level.

Julian Arhire is a Manager with DtiCorp.com - DtiCorp.com carries more than 35,000 HVAC products, including industrial, commercial and residential parts and equipment from Honeywell, Johnson Contols, Robertshaw, Jandy, Grundfos, Armstrong and more.