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Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg in 5 Minuten

Mechanical 330

During today’s colloquium we audit the literature that sets the standard of care for mechanical engineering design, construction operations and maintenance of campus district energy systems — typically miles (kilometers) of large underground pipes and wires that characterize a district energy system.  Topically, Mechanical 400 deals with energy systems “outside” or “between” buildings; whereas Mechanical 200 deals with energy systems within an individual building envelope.

2021 International Mechanical Code

Mechanical Engineering Courses

A campus district energy system is a centralized heating and cooling network that supplies thermal energy to multiple buildings within a defined area, such as a college or university campus. The system generates steam, hot water, or chilled water at a central plant, which is then distributed through an underground network of pipes to individual buildings for space heating, domestic hot water, and air conditioning. By consolidating energy production and distribution, campus district energy systems can achieve significant energy and cost savings compared to individual building systems, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve reliability and resiliency of the energy supply.

"I've always been interested in building systems that can understand and respond to natural language. It's one of the most challenging and fascinating problems in AI" - Stephen Wolfram"The golden rule of elevator safety states 'Its either you're in or out'" - Facilities Management

School Construction News (September 24) | Arizona State University: Helping Higher Ed: Solutions to Advance Sustainability Goals in Campus Mechanical Systems

We track standards setting in the bibliographies of the following organizations:

AHRI | Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute

ASHRAE | American Society of Heating & Refrigeration Engineers

ASHRAE Guideline 14: Measurement of Energy and Demand Savings

ASHRAE Guideline 22: Instrumentation for Monitoring Central Chilled Water Plant Efficiency

Facility Smart Grid Information Model

ASME | American Society of Mechanical Engineers

ASPE | American Association of Plumbing Engineers

ASTM | American Society for Testing & Materials

AWWA | American Water Works Association

AHRI | Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration Institute

IAPMO | International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials

IEC | International Electrotechnical Commission

Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers

Research on the Implementation Path Analysis of Typical District Energy Internet

Expansion Co-Planning of Integrated Electricity-Heat-Gas Networks in District Energy Systems

Towards a Software Infrastructure for District Energy Management

 

IMC | International Mechanical Code

IDEA | International District Energy Association

District Energy Best Practices Handbook

District Energy Assessment Tool

IPC | International Plumbing Code

ISEA | International Safety Equipment Association

NFPA | National Fire Protection Association

SMACNA | Sheet Metal Contractors National Association

UL | Underwriters Laboratories

UpTime Institute

(All relevant OSHA Standards)

It is a large domain and virtually none of the organizations listed above deal with district energy systems outside their own (market-making) circle of influence.  As best we can we try to pull together the peak priorities for the real asset managers and engineers who are responsible for these system.

* Building services engineers are responsible for the design, installation, operation and monitoring of the technical services in buildings (including mechanical, electrical and public health systems, also known as MEP or HVAC), in order to ensure the safe, comfortable and environmentally friendly operation. Building services engineers work closely with other construction professionals such as architects, structural engineers and quantity surveyors. Building services engineers influence the architectural design of building, in particular facades, in relation to energy efficiency and indoor environment, and can integrate local energy production (e.g. façade-integrated photovoltaics) or community-scale energy facilities (e.g. district heating). Building services engineers therefore play an important role in the design and operation of energy-efficient buildings (including green buildings, passive houses and zero energybuildings.  uses. With buildings accounting for about a third of all carbon emissions] and over a half of the global electricity demand, building services engineers play an important role in the move to a low-carbon society, hence mitigate global warming.


More:

Practical Essay on the Stength of Cast Iron and Other Metals  Thomas Tredgold (1882)

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research

System Aspects of Electrical Energy

IEC technical committees and subcommittees Ω SMB Tabulation

IEC and ITU offices | Geneva

Much economic activity in the global standards system involves products — not interoperability standards. Getting everything to work together — safely, cost effectively and simpler — is our raison d’etre.  

Manufacturers, testing laboratories, conformance authorities (whom we call vertical incumbents) are able to finance the cost of their advocacy — salaries, travel, lobbying, administration — into the cost of the product they sell to the end user (in our cases, estate managers in educational settlements).  To present products — most of which involve direct contact with a consumer — at a point of sale it must have a product certification label.  Not so with systems.  System certification requirements, if any, may originate in local public safety requirements; sometimes reaching into the occupational safety domain.

Our readings of the intent of this technical committee is to discover and promulgate best practice for “systems of products” — i.e. ideally interoperability characteristics throughout the full span of the system life cycle.

To quote Thomas Sowell:

“There are no absolute solutions to human problems, there are only tradeoffs.”  

Many problems have no solutions, only trade-offs in matters of degree.  We explain our lament over wicked problems in our About.

 

IEC technical committees and subcommittees


LEARN MORE:

 

If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration. - Nikola Tesla


ARCHIVE

The United States National Committee of  the International Electrotechnical Commission (USNA/IEC) seeks participants and an ANSI Technical Advisory Group (US TAG) Administrator for an IEC subcommittee (Multi-Agent System) developing standards for power system network management.   From the project prospectus:

Standardization in the field of network management in interconnected electric power systems with different time horizons including design, planning, market integration, operation and control.  SC 8C covers issues such as resilience, reliability, security, stability in transmission-level networks (generally with voltage 100kV or above) and also the impact of distribution level resources on the interconnected power system, e.g. conventional or aggregated Demand Side Resources (DSR) procured from markets.

SC 8C develops normative deliverables/guidelines/technical reports such as:

– Terms and definitions in area of network management,
– Guidelines for network design, planning, operation, control, and market integration
– Contingency criteria, classification, countermeasures, and controller response, as a basis of technical requirements for reliability, adequacy, security, stability and resilience analysis,
– Functional and technical requirements for network operation management systems, stability control systems, etc.
– Technical profiling of reserve products from DSRs for effective market integration.
– Technical requirements of wide-area operation, such as balancing reserve sharing, emergency power wheeling.

Individuals who are interested in becoming a participant or the TAG Administrator for SC 8C: Network Management are invited to contact Adelana Gladstein at [email protected] as soon as possible.

This opportunity, dealing with the system aspects of electrical energy supply (IEC TC 8), should at least interest electrical engineering research faculty and students involved in power security issues.   Participation would not only provide students with a front-row seat in power system integration but faculty can collaborate and compete (for research money) from the platform TC 8 administers.  We will refer it to the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets online 4 times monthly in European and American time zones.

Code ignis MMXXVII

Winter Holiday Fire Facts

NFPA Fire Protection Systems Catalog (Lorem ipsum)

Crosswalk: NFPA Fire Code and ICC International Fire Code

“Prometheus creating Man in the presence of Athena” 1802 Jean-Simon Berthélemy

Free public access to the current edition of NFPA’s parent fire safety document is linked below:

2024 NFPA 1 Fire Code 

We attend to occupancy-specific chapters (listed below) because of their significant presence in education communities.

Chapter 25: Grandstands and Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, Tents and Membrane Structures (N.B)

Chapter 26: Laboratories Using Chemicals

Chapter 29: Parking Garages

Chapter 32: Motion Picture and Television Production Studio Soundstages and Approved Production Facilities

Chapter 35: Animal Housing Facilities

Chapter 36: Telecommunication Facilities and Information Technology Equipment

Chapter 50: Commercial Cooking

Chapter 52: Energy Storage Systems

Some of the chapters reference other titles such as NFPA 45 Standard of Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals which support risk management in other occupancies.  It is noteworthy that in the 2021 revision cycle of NFPA 1 there are relatively few new concepts regarding education facilities that have been proposed.   You get a sampling of the ideas in play from the transcript of public input for the 2024 edition.

Public Input Report (525 Pages)

Use search terms such as school, college, university, dormitory(ies), laboratory(ies), classroom, children, day-care, student, et cetera for a sense of the ideas in play.

Results of the 2027 First Draft meetings have not yet been posted as on November 9, 2024.  A preview of the ideas in play can be found in the meeting minutes of the several committees linked below:

Fire Code (FCC-AAC): First Draft Meeting Minutes

First Draft: Fundamentals of the Fire Code (FCC-FUN)

Special Equipment, Processes and Hazardous Materials (FCC-HAZ)

Building Systems and Special Occupancies (FCC-OCP)

Public comment on the First Draft of the 2027 revision will be received until April 24, 2025.

We include NFPA 1 on our periodic fire safety colloquia — identified by the mnemonic Prometheus — and march along peak interests.

Campus fire safety is domain relatively well-covered by other organizations such as the Center for Campus Fire Safety and HigherEd Safety so we place NFPA 1 in the middle of our priority tier.   We are more interested in the harmonization of NFPA 1 with a competitor title International Fire Code; published by the International Code Council; to wit:

International Fire Code:   The purpose of this code is to establish the minimum requirements consistent with nationally recognized good practice for proving a reasonable level of life safety and property protection from the hazards of fire, explosion or dangerous conditions in new and existing buildings, structures or premises and to provide a reasonable level of safety to fire fighters and emergency responders during emergency operations

Fire Code: The scope includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) Inspection of permanent and temporary buildings, processes, equipment, systems, and other fire and related life safety situations (2) Investigation of fires, explosions, hazardous materials incidents, and other related emergency incidents (3) Review of construction plans, drawings, and specifications for life safety systems, fire protection systems, access, water supplies, processes, hazardous materials, and other fire and life safety issues (4) Fire and life safety education of fire brigades, employees, responsible parties, and the general public (5) Existing occupancies and conditions, the design and construction of new buildings, remodeling of existing buildings, and additions to existing buildings (6) Design, installation, alteration, modification, construction, maintenance, repairs, servicing, and testing of fire protection systems and equipment (7) Installation, use, storage, and handling of medical gas systems (8) Access requirements for fire department operations (9) Hazards from outside fires in vegetation, trash, building debris, and other materials (10) Regulation and control of special events including, but not limited to, assemblage of people, exhibits, trade shows, amusement parks, haunted houses, outdoor events, and other similar special temporary and permanent occupancies (11) Interior finish, decorations, furnishings, and other combustibles that contribute to fire spread, fire load, and smoke production (12) Storage, use, processing, handling, and on-site transportation of flammable and combustible gases, liquids, and solids (13) Storage, use, processing, handling, and on-site transportation of hazardous materials (14) Control of emergency operations and scenes (15) Conditions affecting fire fighter safety (16) Arrangement, design, construction, and alteration of new and existing means of egress

Note that both ICC and NFPA parent fire safety documents are developed on coincident 3-year cycles.

 

Issue: [18-90]

Category: Fire Safety, Public Safety

Colleagues: Mike Anthony,  Joshua W. Elvove, Joe DeRosier, Casey Grant

Electropedia: The World’s Online Electrotechnical Vocabulary

Public Consultations

Public consultation on joint ISO standard 80000 that defines quantities and units for space, time, thermodynamics, light, radiation and even the characteristic numbers for each of the foregoing closes October 11th.

“City at night” 1958 | Harald Rudyard Engman

Electropedia is produced by the world’s peak electrotechnical standardization organization that oversees 214 technical committees that provide a neutral and independent platform where agreement can be found on electrotechnical solutions with global relevance and reach.  The IEC operates close-coupled with the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC)

IEC 60050 International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) – Part 601: Generation, transmission and distribution of electricity | April 16

International Electrotechnical Commission | CDV Consultations

 

Elettrotecnico Lingua Franca

 

If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration. - Nikola Tesla

door (n.)

ICC Group A Monograph (April 2024)

Note 80 school-related entrance and egress concepts (Search term: “School”)

2024 Group A Proposed Changes to the I-Codes (October 2024)

Note 40 school-related entrance and egress concepts (Search term: “School”)

Doors have long since been a simple “opening” or “fenestration”.   Doors are “portals”; nodes on the geometry of the Internet of Small Things.  There are 100’s of thousands of these nodes on any single college, university or school district.  First costs run from $1000 per door in a classroom to $100,000 per door in hospitals with maintenance and operation costs commensurate with complexity of the hardware and software needed to maintain integration of the door with building security and energy systems.

We find the bulk of best practice identified in the catalogs of the following accredited standards developers for the United States construction markets:

ASTM International

Conflicting Requirements of Exit Doors

Standard Practice for Installation of Exterior Windows, Doors and Skylights

Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Child Safety Locks and Latches for Use with Cabinet Doors and Drawers

Repair Methods for Common Water Leaks at Operable Windows and Sliding Glass Doors

Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association

International Code Council

International Building Code Chapter 10:

Doors, Gates and Turnstiles

Chapter 24: Glass and Glazing

Accessibility Requirements (Referenced from ICC A117.1)

Energy Efficiency (Referenced from IECC)

IEEE Current Issues and Recent Research

National Fire Protection Association

Steel Door Institute

University of Michigan Design Guideline 4.7: Building Access Control

University of Michigan Electrical Division 28: Electronic Safety and Security

The US federal government and all 50-states adapt safety and sustainability concepts from the foregoing publishers; either partially or whole cloth.

Today at the usual hour we examine the moment in the standard of care for doors in education communities in the United States.   Join the colloquium with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Standards Michigan Office Ann Arbor Michigan | 2723 South State Street Suite 150


Healthcare Facilities Code

“The Doctor”  1891 Sir Luke Fildes

The NFPA 99 Healthcare Facilities Code committee develops a distinct consensus document (i.e. “regulatory product”) that is distinct from National Electrical Code Article 517; though there are overlaps and gaps that are the natural consequence of changing technology and regulations.  It is worthwhile reviewing the scope of each committee:

NFPA 99 Scope: This Committee shall have primary responsibility for documents that contain criteria for safeguarding patients and health care personnel in the delivery of health care services within health care facilities: a) from fire, explosion, electrical, and related hazards resulting either from the use of anesthetic agents, medical gas equipment, electrical apparatus, and high frequency electricity, or from internal or external incidents that disrupt normal patient care; b) from fire and explosion hazards; c) in connection with the use of hyperbaric and hypobaric facilities for medical purposes; d) through performance, maintenance and testing criteria for electrical systems, both normal and essential; and e) through performance, maintenance and testing, and installation criteria: (1) for vacuum systems for medical or surgical purposes, and (2) for medical gas systems; and f) through performance, maintenance and testing of plumbing, heating, cooling , and ventilating in health care facilities.

NFPA 70 Article 517 Scope:  The provisions of this article shall apply to electrical construction and installation criteria in healthcare facilities that provide services to human beings.  The requirements in Parts II and III not only apply to single-function buildings but are also intended to be individually applied to their respective forms of occupancy within a multi-function building (e.g. a doctor’s examining room located within a limited care facility would be required to meet the provisions of 517.10)   Informational Note: For information concerning performance, maintenance, and testing criteria, refer to the appropriate health care facilities documents.

In short, NFPA 70 Article 517 is intended to focus only on electrical safety issues though electrotechnology complexity and integration in healthcare settings (security, telecommunications, wireless medical devices, fire safety, environmental air control, etc.) usually results in conceptual overlap with other regulatory products such as NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code) and the International Building Code.

Several issues were recently debated by the Article 517 technical committee during the 2023 National Electrical Code Second Draft meetings

  • The conditions under which reconditioned electrical equipment be installed in healthcare settings; contingent on listing and re-certification specifics.
  • Relaxation of the design rules for feeder and branch circuit sizing through the application of demand factors.
  • Application of ground fault circuit interrupters.
  • “Rightsizing” feeder and branch circuit power chains (Demand factors in Section 517.22)
  • Patient care space categories
  • Independence of power sources (517.30)

There are, of course, many others, not the least of which involves emergency management.  For over 20 years our concern has been for the interdependency of water and electrical power supply to university hospitals given that many of them are part of district energy systems.

We need to “touch” this code at least once a month because of its interdependence on other consensus products by other standards developing organizations.  To do this we refer NFPA 99 standards action to the IEEE Education & Healthcare Facilities Committee which meets online four times monthly in European and American time zones.

The transcript of NEC Article 517 Public Input for the 2023 revision of NFPA 70 is linked below.  (You may have to register your interest by setting up a free-access account):

Code-Making Panel 15 (NEC-P15) Public Input Report

Code-Making Panel 15 (NEC-P15) Public Comment Report

Technical committees will meet in June to endorse the 2023 National Electrical Code.

Public consultation on the Second Draft closes May 31st. Landing page for selected sections of the 2024 revision  of NFPA 99 are linked below:

Electrical Systems (HEA-ELS)

Fundamentals (HEA-FUN)

Health Care Emergency Management and Security (HEA-HES)

Second Draft Comments are linked below:

Electrical Systems (HEA-ELS)

Fundamentals (HEA-FUN)

Health Care Emergency Management and Security (HEA-HES)

NITMAM closing date: March 28, 2023

We break down NFPA 70 and NFPA 99 together and keep them on the standing agenda of both our Power and Health colloquia; open to everyone.  See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting.

"The trained nurse has become one of the great blessings of humanity, taking a place beside the physician and the priest" - William Osler"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about" - Angela Schwindt "The true art of pediatrics lies not only in curing diseases but also in preventing them" - Abraham JacobiGermany

Issues: [12-18, [15-97] and [16-101]

Contact: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Robert Arno, Josh Elvove, Joe DeRosier, Larry Spielvogel

NFPA Staff Liaison: Jonathan Hart

Archive / NFPA 99

 

 

 

Bangers and Mash

University of New England Financial Report 2022 | ($30.81M)

Classic British comfort food.  The origin of the recipe can be traced back to the United Kingdom in the mid-20th century. The dish’s name, “bangers,” comes from the habit of sausages bursting open (banging) while cooking due to their high water content, particularly during World War II when meat was scarce, and fillers were added to sausages.

The popularity of sausages and mashed potatoes as a meal likely dates back much further in British culinary history. Sausages have been a part of British cuisine for centuries, and mashed potatoes have been consumed in the UK since potatoes were introduced to Europe in the 16th century.  It has long since become the go-to meal for college students seeking a satisfying, simple, and budget-friendly option during their academic years.

Ingredients:

Pork sausages (traditional British bangers)
Potatoes (such as Russet or Yukon Gold)
Butter
Milk or cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Onion gravy (optional, for serving)

Instructions:

Start by preparing the sausages. You can grill, pan-fry, or oven-bake them until they are cooked through and nicely browned.

While the sausages are cooking, peel and chop the potatoes into chunks. Place them in a pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a fork.

Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Mash the potatoes using a potato masher or a potato ricer.

Add butter and a splash of milk or cream to the mashed potatoes, and continue mashing until you achieve your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the cooked sausages on top of the mashed potatoes, and if desired, pour onion gravy over the dish.

The History of “Bangers and Mash” as a College Meal:

Simplicity: The dish is easy to prepare, requiring basic cooking skills and readily available ingredients, making it ideal for students who may have limited cooking facilities or time.

Affordability: Sausages and potatoes are often budget-friendly ingredients, making “Bangers and Mash” a cost-effective meal for students on tight budgets.

Comfort and Nostalgia: The dish’s hearty and comforting nature brings a sense of nostalgia and home-cooked goodness to college students, especially those living away from home for the first time.

Social Meal: “Bangers and Mash” is a dish that can be shared with friends or hallmates, making it a popular choice for communal meals in college dormitories or shared kitchens.

Overall, “Bangers and Mash” has not only been a staple in British cuisine but also a go-to meal for college students seeking a satisfying, simple, and budget-friendly option during their academic years.

Standards Australia

Intellectual Property in the Age of Open Source

Innovation management

Readings / FRAND licensing in an Unwired world

Protection of Intellectual Property in the Supply Chain

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