University of Maryland – Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research Chiller Plant Optimization
Implementing OptiCx® with OptimumLOOP® nearly doubles chiller plant output while increasing reliability
Nearly Doubling Output Without Adding Energy
Cutting energy use in research labs is notoriously tough. But when the state of Maryland committed to aggressively reducing its energy consumption—20 percent by 2020—James Johnson, IBBR’s director of facilities and lab services, knew he had to find a way to make the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research more efficient.
Calling the 110,000-square-foot facility “as big an energy pig as there was out there,” Johnson took a close look at the environmental stabilization plant. When he started the optimization project, the plant was consuming energy at 0.9 kW/ton and operating at just 50 percent output. In the first year of optimization, IBBR’s plant cut energy use by an average of 30 percent while its output almost doubled.
Consulting with engineers from Optimum Energy, he found that optimizing each piece of equipment individually, as part of the whole system, could increase the plant’s overall efficiency considerably—while also increasing reliability and redundancy critical to world-class research operations.
Increasing Efficiency of a New Plant
When Maryland charged Johnson with reducing energy consumption, the environmental stabilization plant was only five years old and had few operational maintenance issues—making the path to efficiency less obvious than a typical aging infrastructure project.
State Energy Mandate
Maryland committed to aggressively reducing energy consumption by 20% by 2020. Johnson needed to find a way to make IBBR more efficient—even though the plant was relatively new and running without major issues.
Plant Running at Half Capacity
Despite being only five years old, the plant was operating at just 50% output while consuming energy at 0.9 kW/ton—leaving enormous efficiency potential on the table without a holistic optimization approach.
Year-Round Extreme Conditions
IBBR is in Rockville, Maryland, where conditions range from icy winters to hot, humid summers. The two chillers labor year-round to cool 110,000 sq ft, requiring consistent performance regardless of outdoor conditions.
Critical Research Environment
IBBR connects award-winning scientists in interdisciplinary bioscience and biotechnology research. Any instability in lab environments would be detrimental to the mission—reliability and redundancy were non-negotiable.
OptimumLOOP® All-Variable Flow Conversion
IBBR converted to an all-variable flow plant, with Optimum Energy’s OptiCx® Platform as the optimization and control layer. OptimumLOOP® calculates the most efficient operation of the entire chilled water system and optimizes plant performance in real time, dynamically adapting to changes in load, weather, and occupancy to yield the lowest possible kW/ton while maintaining optimal lab temperature.
The solution looks at how each piece of equipment runs and figures out at what speed and pressure it would work optimally. Running one chilled water pump at 55 Hz instead of 60 Hz may not seem like a huge gain in isolation—but multiply that across two pumps and then run those chillers more efficiently at a lower flow, and individual improvements wrap up to one big number.
Through OptiCx® Chiller Diagnostics, Johnson receives monthly maintenance reports with prioritized recommendations, which helps keep the chillers running at peak performance. The solution’s analytics and measurement and verification capabilities allow him to continually monitor HVAC system performance, efficiency, and energy savings.
Almost Twice the Energy for the Same Cost
When Johnson began looking at a plant optimization solution, IBBR’s environmental stabilization plant was running at about 50% output. After running at full optimization for about a year, the facility increased to 90% output—and its energy consumption remained flat.
Plant Efficiency Improvement
Annual average efficiency improved from 0.9 kW/ton to 0.57–0.65 kW/ton
Energy Use Reduction (Year 1)
Plant cut energy use by an average of 30% in the first year of optimization
Plant Output After Optimization
Up from just 50% output before — nearly doubled without added energy cost
Annual Electrical Energy Savings
Verified annual energy savings from optimization
Annual CO₂ Reduction
128.38 tons of CO₂ emissions reduced per year
ROI
Projected return on investment including $36,000 annual operations cost savings
Efficiency, Reliability & Peace of Mind
Optimum is different. The solution looks at how each piece of equipment runs and figures out at what speed, what pressure, and so on it would work optimally. I’ve got a plant that is running at absolute maximum efficiency.
Maximum Efficiency. Unchanged Energy Bill.
“Optimum Energy gave us a lot of the options we were interested in, including making maintenance and operations more flexible and extending the life of the equipment,” said Johnson. “The solution offered a greater return on investment than other options.”
The IBBR project demonstrates that even a relatively new, well-maintained plant can hold significant untapped efficiency. By converting to an all-variable flow system and deploying OptimumLOOP® with OptiCx®, IBBR achieved a rare combination: nearly doubled plant output, a 30% reduction in energy use, and a more reliable environment for world-class bioscience research—all without disruption to critical lab operations.
