The Inaugural Edition of our newsletter, The EcoClimate News, has prompted a meeting with our district representative scheduled for Friday, February 26th.
The major topic of conversation will be the recent release for construction documents for the FDA CBER facility located in White Oak, MD. The specifications for the controlled environment rooms in this project are a typical file-room copy provided by the architect/engineering firm. Refrigeration system technology is changing, and file-room copies should no longer be used in this rapidly changing sector.
Conventional Controlled Environment Room design is not consistent with energy-saving design considerations. Promotion of a particular specification with an architect/engineer is how the Controlled Environment Room companies have survived up until now. Technologies are currently available to reduce the energy consumption, carbon footprint, and provide advanced moisture control for mold prevention in coolers.
Once upon a time, these special construction rooms were built by a handful of companies across the nation. These rooms cost a small fortune and then up to 50% of the installation cost every year in electricity! With a lifespan of 20 years, a controlled environment rooms total cost of ownership will be very large indeed. Control of electricity cost is not an option available to you, but the amount of energy it consumes can be regulated to meet the immediate demands of your refrigeration equipment. Conventional wisdom would install a grossly over-sized condensing unit just in case that 100 year high temperature record gets broken. Conventional wisdom would provide fault tolerance by providing a second grossly over-sized unit. What does all of this mean? Refrigeration equipment is not efficient and it represents a massive slice of the energy consumption pie chart.
So, Congressman Sarbanes,
"Why does the design of this federal building ignore current technologies?"
"Why does the design ignore the requirements of US HR6 section 312?"
"How is our small business supposed to compete when the acceptable manufacturer's list is closed to all but six companies in the nation?"
"Why is the EPA's SNAP program being ignored with regard to the use of natural refrigerant CO2 in lieu of synthetic refrigerants that have significant environmental impact?"
And finally, "Can the Maryland 3rd District sponsor our trip to the 9th IIR Gustav Lorentzen Conference?"
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Update: Many thanks to Congressman Sarbanes, Jim Notter and Brianne Nadeau for taking the time to listen to our concerns.
ReplyDeleteWith the help of Congressman Sarbanes, we hope to break down the restrictive practices of old and allow small businesses such as ours have an impact on the refrigeration world starting with the new FDA facility.