10 Minutes to a Better Building with Boland

When it comes to scaling a business or upgrading any building, having the right proposal and the right source of financing is key. Boland’s very own Optimization Engineer, Bri Widmoyer sat with host Tyler Kern of Ten Minutes to a Better Building, to discuss just how grants work and major keys to unlock in the grants and financing world. “Grants are created to serve a specific purpose with very specific funding avenues, and they can either be competitive or noncompetitive,” Widmoyer said. Competitive grants are just that competitive, those awarded will come from a pool of applicants, while the noncompetitive grants often work on a first come first serve basis. The best part is “it’s free money which doesn't have to be paid back, it’s why its attractive and a lot of times it goes unspent if there are not enough applicants,” she said. The drive for many grants follows government officials. Industries that focus on energy, sustainability, education and infrastructure, environmental justice, low-income housing, rural entities and companies thriving for diversity and inclusion are more highly ranked when competing for grants. “The good thing to know is that no two grants are the same. It’s always going to be different,” Widmoyer said. When Widmoyer works with clients at Boland, the key, she said is finding grants to directly align with clients wants and needs. After the match making process for grants is complete, Widmoyer begins “with putting pen to paper” and assisting clients with the application process. “The agencies are closing looking at how the applicants’ priorities align with the agencies priorities, so if we can make them align it will make for a more outstanding application and the more likely they are to award it,” she said. “Knowing the client's timeline and the construction process for a building is important in grants. It’s how all those pieces fit together.”

Building owners and property managers may be familiar with the various rebates and programs associated with equipment within the scope of their buildings. Still, there are other utility incentives available that aren’t as known. Emily Herchenroeder, Energy Solutions Team Leader at Boland, joined Tyler Kern to shed more light on some of those other utility rebates and incentives. "The purpose of the incentive program is pretty simple," Herchenroeder said. "It's designed to reduce demand on the utility grid by incentivizing businesses to do capital improvement projects at a fraction of the cost." It's a two-part saving with money back through rebates and cash saved through energy usage reduction. One example of a beneficial incentive Herchenroeder pointed to was AFDs. "We found a chiller plant in D.C. that qualified for a really good rebate for AFDs," Herchenroeder said. "Since Washington, D.C. already has a relatively expensive electricity rate, we found this payback was for one AFD, roughly one-to-three years payback, and then a second drive would be five years or less for both." Belimo Energy Valves are another item Boland’s found incentive opportunities for clients. “Boland did a retrofit project in Berkeley County where a number of outdated system components were replaced with Belimo Energy Valves,” Herchenroeder said. “This reduced their HVAC energy usage by more than half.” Once installed, these sophisticated valves helped detect flaws within the existing piping of this Berkely County project. In a recent project Boland developed with a client, they found a significant rebate using dynamic air filters. “In this particular project, we estimated enough kWh savings to produce a rebate of almost a hundred and six thousand dollars,” Herchenroeder said. “That’s a large and substantial key factor in moving forward with a project. Not only are you reducing your energy usage, you’re getting a rebate back, and drastically improving indoor air quality.”

When it comes to building and maintaining better buildings, one might say water is the lifeblood of the entire operation. Ben Feeney, Water Technologies Manager at Boland, dropped in to provide Tyler Kern with a deeper understanding of how water impacts building systems and equipment. Water’s high heat capacity and relatively inexpensive costs make it a valuable source for distributing and removing heat from a building. One downside is the impurities and minerals water brings that can deposit on and erode equipment over time. “Water treatment chemicals are important to stop corrosion, bacteria, and scaling,” Feeney said. “We can keep the equipment lasting quite a long time if we’re doing those things.” One strategy for conserving water in a building is recirculation. “In water treatment, what we do is we have a controller that senses the minerals in the water,” Feeney said. “And when you get up to three to five cycles, that water treatment controller will dump some of that water to get some of the impurities out.” Keeping the proper balance of mineral concentration with the right chemicals and precise controls will extend the lifecycle of equipment and systems that come in contact with water. Another tip to keep water systems from creating more harm than good is the use of water softeners, which remove calcium from the water. “Most minerals dissolve under warm temperatures,” Feeney said. “The problem with calcium is it’s the opposite. As temperatures are warmer, they will drop out of the water. If we can remove that, then we look at chlorides and other elements in the water, but it allows us to push those cycles up higher.” Planning is everything, and starting a building off with a proper water treatment strategy will mean fewer headaches and costs over time. “Brand new pipe from a manufacturer wants to corrode quickly as soon as the water is put in that piping,” Feeney said. “There’s pipe slag, oils, and greases from manufacturing that pipe, so at startup, as soon as the water is put into that piping system, it is important that a water treater is involved.”

Julie Wolfington, Energy and Sustainability Leader at Boland, made her third appearance on 10 Minutes to a Better Building to talk about sustainability’s essential issues in building management. For years building practices used more of the earth’s resources than returned to the environment. That practice is not sustainable, and companies recognize things need to change. So how does a business know if it’s sustainable, and how do they measure it? “The concept of sustainability refers to three main pillars,” Wolfington said. “The environment, which is the pillar we mostly think about, but also there’s the social pillar, and the economic pillar.” For this discussion, Wolfington focused on the environmental aspects of sustainability. In terms of the environment, one way to measure the sustainability of a business is through the emissions output. Certain greenhouse gases, such as those emitted from a car or refrigerants, can devastatingly affect the environment. “Greenhouse gasses are measured by their capacity to store the sun’s heat,” Wolfington said. “This is referred to as its global-warming potential or GWP.” These measurements translate to numbers that help determine how dangerous a particular gas emissions output is for the environment. Wolfington used the CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) scale to demonstrate how these measurements work. For example, one molecule of methane has the same heat storage capacity as 74 molecules of CO2. So, while CO2 may be the most prevalent greenhouse gas, some of these other gases could prove more harmful to the environment, and reducing those emissions is a critical step towards sustainability. Wolfington said Boland works closely with their customers to help them meet their sustainability goals and find ways to reduce those emissions in their buildings.

Refrigerant regulations are in a state of flux. In the next few years, common refrigerants will be no longer be viable for equipment. The reason for the change is that many products currently have a high global warming potential. Breaking down the new laws and their impact, Boland Sales Team Leader Kevin Bradley joined host Tyler Kern on 10 Minutes to a Better Building.“On January 1, 2024, R134A will be eliminated. Then on January 1, 2025, so will R410A. The alternatives to replace these have different characteristics,” Bradley explained. The International Agreements for Refrigerants (AHRI) worldwide agreement set out global action plans to mitigate climate change due to dangerous substances. Now, the industry must look to innovation to produce new technology. Bradley noted that some alternatives have been in testing and are readily available. Others are still in the testing and evaluation phase. “For medium pressure, all manufacturers were on board to get rid of R134A, and we have other options. High-pressure still has questions.”The stumbling block for replacing high-pressure R410A is that new refrigerants are also flammable. “That creates more questions about piping and installing it and code impact,” Bradley advised. Europe and Asia already have the new, more environmentally friendly refrigerants installed. The U.S. is lagging. Bradley added, “There’s not a clear winner yet on the alternative for high pressure.”For those buildings with older equipment, Bradley suggested they inspect the equipment today to assess the age and leaking. Then, they can build a plan to replace it to fit current and future standards.

Facilities managers know that contingency planning is necessary for any effective building operation. Part of those contingencies is access to rental services. John Finucan, Senior Rental Project Executive at Boland, joined host 10 Minutes to a Better Building host Tyler Kern to talk about the importance of rental services. Finucan is the ideal expert to ask, as he started the rental services department at the company.

Living, working, and recreational environments can make all the difference when it comes to your health, mood, and wellbeing. Host Tyler Kern spoke with Tom Lattomus, Controls Account Executive at Boland, about the WELL Building Certification, which affords business owners the opportunity to positively impact these environments to improve health.The WELL Building Certification provides industry professionals with the opportunity to demonstrate advanced knowledge in human health, wellbeing and how this interacts with building environments. Lattomus explained, “The WELL building standard is a vehicle for owners, property managers, architects, engineers for building organizations to build more thoughtful and intentional spaces.” The certification includes studying webinars and content, and practice exams are available online. Those wishing to become certified must sit for a live or proctored exam within a year. The benefit of this certification is that it shows a business’s commitment to fostering health and wellbeing in their environment. Examples of features a business may choose to address include air quality, water quality, natural light presence, exposure to nature, and selection and quality of building materials. Ultimately, the WELL Certification provides businesses with the opportunity to better serve clients with evidence-based design connections. “The aim is to advance the health through better design, operational protocols and policies, and foster culture of health and wellbeing,” said Lattomus. This has become even more important post-pandemic as individuals have focused more on the indoor spaces where they live and work. Lattomus encouraged those considering the certification to pursue it to invest in employees and bring better service to clients. “It’s hard to improve what you don’t measure,” he said. The WELL Standard and strategies that come with it help to identify facets that can be improved and measure ways to improve them.

Living, working, and recreational environments can make all the difference when it comes to your health, mood, and wellbeing. Host Tyler Kern spoke with Tom Lattomus, Controls Account Executive at Boland, about the WELL Building Certification, which affords business owners the opportunity to positively impact these environments to improve health.The WELL Building Certification provides industry professionals with the opportunity to demonstrate advanced knowledge in human health, wellbeing and how this interacts with building environments. Lattomus explained, “The WELL building standard is a vehicle for owners, property managers, architects, engineers for building organizations to build more thoughtful and intentional spaces.” The certification includes studying webinars and content, and practice exams are available online. Those wishing to become certified must sit for a live or proctored exam within a year. The benefit of this certification is that it shows a business’s commitment to fostering health and wellbeing in their environment. Examples of features a business may choose to address include air quality, water quality, natural light presence, exposure to nature, and selection and quality of building materials. Ultimately, the WELL Certification provides businesses with the opportunity to better serve clients with evidence-based design connections. “The aim is to advance the health through better design, operational protocols and policies, and foster culture of health and wellbeing,” said Lattomus. This has become even more important post-pandemic as individuals have focused more on the indoor spaces where they live and work. Lattomus encouraged those considering the certification to pursue it to invest in employees and bring better service to clients. “It’s hard to improve what you don’t measure,” he said. The WELL Standard and strategies that come with it help to identify facets that can be improved and measure ways to improve them.

Brad Snodgrass, global account manager at Boland Trane, explained to Host Tyler Kern about modular chillers’ benefits and how Boland works with customers to ensure an upgrade is the right move for them. Instead of the traditional physically separated chillers, modular chillers have one point of electrical connection with a factory control component—this means a more efficient system that physically takes up less space and allows significantly more flexibility. “The benefit of the modular chiller is now when we’re putting the new chiller back in, we have these small building blocks, and we’re able to put them in one at a time. It doesn’t matter if you’re running into a small elevator, narrow hallway, or whatever the building feature presents as a challenge, the modular chiller is able to help you overcome that and get the new chiller into the space,” said Snodgrass.

Brad Snodgrass, global account manager at Boland Trane, explained to Host Tyler Kern about modular chillers’ benefits and how Boland works with customers to ensure an upgrade is the right move for them. Instead of the traditional physically separated chillers, modular chillers have one point of electrical connection with a factory control component—this means a more efficient system that physically takes up less space and allows significantly more flexibility. “The benefit of the modular chiller is now when we’re putting the new chiller back in, we have these small building blocks, and we’re able to put them in one at a time. It doesn’t matter if you’re running into a small elevator, narrow hallway, or whatever the building feature presents as a challenge, the modular chiller is able to help you overcome that and get the new chiller into the space,” said Snodgrass. Boland wants to ensure future customers are treated like partners by taking on a consultative approach when determining if modular chillers are an appropriate update. These steps include:1. Identify the customer’s needs that may reveal the opportunity for a modular chiller upgrade2. Discuss examples to determine the type of problems to solve, such as phasing, future expansion needs, and seasonal turndown3. Conduct factory testing to verify and prove packaged solution’s capabilities and inspire ideas 4. Design and implement the right solutions with experienced engineers and award-winning softwareMaking a capital purchase such as modular chillers is a large investment for any company. Partner with a reputable HVAC equipment and service provider with the teams and technology to deliver the right results efficiently and responsibly.

Over the past year and a half, the pandemic caused numerous issues to the supply chain. The Biden Administration is pushing for relief, but it looks like problems will exist through the holidays, leaving Americans in short supply for Christmas. Here to give insights on this episode of 10 Minutes To A Better Building is Mike Alexis, Account Executive at Boland. He talked with Host Tyler Kern about how Boland is confronting the issues with the supply chain. American consumers aren’t the only ones facing a shortage due to the supply chain, as issues also trickled down to the HVAC industry. Some of the equipment in HVAC requires the same semiconductor chip to function that is impacting the automobile industry.“The HVAC industry right now is dealing with the same issues that virtually every other industry is facing at the moment,” Alexis said. “From material shortages to labor shortages, to the warehouse to the trucking industry. It’s even been impacted by the semiconductor chip shortage that’s pretty much crippled the auto industry.” The HVAC industry isn’t unique in its present struggles but there is an overlap in dealing with the same shortages as other industries. At Boland, they are taking the situation one day at a time by dealing with and adapting to each issue. The issues are equally spread across residential and commercial applications. “The semiconductor chip shortage has impacted the residential side of things a little bit more,” Alexis said. “There’s a little bit more electronics, like some of the temperature sensors in the thermostats. They need these semiconductors chips and some of these boards and higher-end stuff.”

Over the past year and a half, the pandemic caused numerous issues to the supply chain. The Biden Administration is pushing for relief, but it looks like problems will exist through the holidays, leaving Americans in short supply for Christmas. Here to give insights on this episode of 10 Minutes To A Better Building is Mike Alexis, Account Executive at Boland. He talked with Host Tyler Kern about how Boland is confronting the issues with the supply chain. American consumers aren’t the only ones facing a shortage due to the supply chain, as issues also trickled down to the HVAC industry. Some of the equipment in HVAC requires the same semiconductor chip to function that is impacting the automobile industry.“The HVAC industry right now is dealing with the same issues that virtually every other industry is facing at the moment,” Alexis said. “From material shortages to labor shortages, to the warehouse to the trucking industry. It’s even been impacted by the semiconductor chip shortage that’s pretty much crippled the auto industry.” The HVAC industry isn’t unique in its present struggles but there is an overlap in dealing with the same shortages as other industries. At Boland, they are taking the situation one day at a time by dealing with and adapting to each issue. The issues are equally spread across residential and commercial applications. “The semiconductor chip shortage has impacted the residential side of things a little bit more,” Alexis said. “There’s a little bit more electronics, like some of the temperature sensors in the thermostats. They need these semiconductors chips and some of these boards and higher-end stuff.”

On this episode of 10 Minutes To A Better Building, Host Tyler Kern talked with Jason Lawrence, Ductless Technical Specialist at Boland Trane, which provides HVAC solutions and a network of more than 360 locations throughout the United States and Canada. They dove into VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow), the ins and outs, and when VRF is a good design application.“Most VRF is heating and cooling equipment, and it’s a split system,” Lawrence said. “We have a condenser outside, and then we have indoor units. We could have up to 50 indoor units, or as something as simple as a condenser with one indoor unit.” What makes this system different is that it’s a VX refrigeration system. It has refrigerant in it, but the compressor is actually modulating various capacities. And it’s the same thing with the fan motors, Lawrence explains. VRF systems provide energy savings, smaller zones, heat recovery, and reduced duct losses. While a simple Google search might show that a VRF system is ductless that isn’t always the case. “Ductless is almost an improper term,” Lawrence said, “...but there’s a lot of ducted units, as well, that have air ducts on them. The difference being we may have a smaller duct system on a VRF unit.” VRF systems offer many benefits. For example, in a home, there’s a thermostat, and it’s hot out. The home unit comes on at 100 percent of its capacity, cools it down to the thermostat temperature, and then turns off. A VRF system is similar to a car in that it’s able to match the load. It will require more energy when it starts up, but it’s easier to maintain once it's going. “We want it to match the load,” Lawrence said. “It stops so much of the slamming on and off, so it’s very energy efficient.”

On this episode of 10 Minutes To A Better Building, Host Tyler Kern talked with Jason Lawrence, Ductless Technical Specialist at Boland Trane, which provides HVAC solutions and a network of more than 360 locations throughout the United States and Canada. They dove into VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow), the ins and outs, and when VRF is a good design application.“Most VRF is heating and cooling equipment, and it’s a split system,” Lawrence said. “We have a condenser outside, and then we have indoor units. We could have up to 50 indoor units, or as something as simple as a condenser with one indoor unit.” What makes this system different is that it’s a VX refrigeration system. It has refrigerant in it, but the compressor is actually modulating various capacities. And it’s the same thing with the fan motors, Lawrence explains. VRF systems provide energy savings, smaller zones, heat recovery, and reduced duct losses. While a simple Google search might show that a VRF system is ductless that isn’t always the case. “Ductless is almost an improper term,” Lawrence said, “...but there’s a lot of ducted units, as well, that have air ducts on them. The difference being we may have a smaller duct system on a VRF unit.” VRF systems offer many benefits. For example, in a home, there’s a thermostat, and it’s hot out. The home unit comes on at 100 percent of its capacity, cools it down to the thermostat temperature, and then turns off. A VRF system is similar to a car in that it’s able to match the load. It will require more energy when it starts up, but it’s easier to maintain once it's going. “We want it to match the load,” Lawrence said. “It stops so much of the slamming on and off, so it’s very energy efficient.”

One badge of honor that’s synonymous with energy savings is the ENERGY STAR logo. With the ENERGY STAR Certification on a product, industrial plant, or building, people can ensure that energy efficiency is top of mind. Jim Bauer, Account Executive with Boland, and Gary Wine, IT Director, at the Berkeley County Council, spoke about the meaning of achieving this elite status and what steps building owners need to take to receive this coveted certification. “To achieve it, you need to measure how you’re performing,” Bauer said. “As an HVAC company and energy services company, when we develop a relationship with a client, we want to be able to have access to their energy consumption, their bills, and their energy data. From that, we can help them start getting their ENERGY STAR rating.” Once Boland receives the data, Bauer said the next step is to get that building connected. “We like to connect to the building’s automation system because there’s a plethora of information available. By gathering that information then we can monitor how that building’s performing. And we can then start communicating with the client about scheduling, and setbacks, and how the building is waking up and going to sleep every day and making sure that is done properly.” Wine detailed the process that Berkeley County went through with Boland to achieve the ENERGY STAR certification. And the importance of saving money for the taxpayers played a considerable role in the desire to increase energy efficiencies with their buildings. “With Boland, they made it really easy,” Wine said. “They came to us and said, ‘we would like to help you identify some of these inefficiencies, some of these problem areas, and we’ve got this solution that can track data, track statistics, and help to speak to your problems from a numbers’ scenario.”