Schendt Engineering has extensive experience in the design of various types of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems for commercial, governmental and institutional facilities. Schendt Engineering has extensive experience as the prime consultant managing projects for our clients. Approximately 80% of our project experience over the years has been as the prime consultant for large governmental and institutional clients. SEC has assembled the same group of registered professional architects, engineers, scientists, and specialists that have brought our team success and recognition in the past with our clients and the local community. Each team member brings unique experiences in their specific discipline to support the team, our clients, and our mission. Our team of sub-consultants has worked together on hundreds of projects over the past several years.
HVAC Systems
SEC has design experience with virtually all types of HVAC systems from HTHW (High Temperature Hot Water) generation and distribution to high performance variable air volume systems to “geothermal” central chiller plants coupling a closed loop with an earth heat exchanger. Unique to the mechanical consulting industry, our areas of specialization includes central heating and cooling plants, campus distribution systems, hydraulic analysis, process exhaust systems, and control systems. Since HVAC systems account for an average of 40% of the typical building’s energy consumption, our system designs have incorporated various types of energy conservation methods including heat recovery, desiccant wheels, direct and indirect evaporative cooling, geothermal heat pumps, active and passive chilled beams, economizer cycles, air blenders, cogeneration, glycol loop dry-cooler heat exchangers, and heat pipes. For energy cost reduction projects, SEC staff have designed well over a dozen off-peak thermal ice storage systems with strategy to run chillers at 100% during the night to make ice to cool the building during the utility’s peak rate period (typically 2 to 5 P.M. in the afternoon) with the chilled water plant off or at part-load.
Many of our HVAC projects have design challenges requiring custom built equipment designed to meet the design criteria, conform to structural loading limitations, or simply fit into the available space. SEC provides the appropriate and cost-effective solutions to these challenges that are both constructible and maintainable. Mechanical engineers are oft challenged to balance improving indoor air quality simultaneously with energy conservation, which are in fact contrary goals. Our solutions include decoupling the treatment of ventilation air with a DOAS (Dedicated Outside Air System) and building pressurization response control to mitigate infiltration issues. For the USAFA Mitchell Hall HVAC upgrade project, one air handling unit supplied conditioned ventilation air to active chilled beams with individual heating hot water and chilled water coils providing individual temperature control for each room.
Besides design integration with all other disciples and building trades, one of Schendt Engineering’s skill set strengths is knowledge of HVAC control design and implementation experience.
Our design portfolio includes industrial process fume exhaust systems for pollution abatement and odor emissions control. Schendt Engineering has provided a biohazard exhaust system modifications for the USAFA CETF (Consolidated Educational Training Facility) which includes an air quality monitoring system with a demand side exhaust control scheme to reduce the biohazard exhaust air quantity and save energy in lieu of replacement of the exhaust fans with larger fans. For the microelectronics industry, a design for the abatement of the lead emissions associated with de-drossing soldering machines was provided as part of a an HVAC upgrade project at SCI Systems, Inc. in Fountain, CO.
SEC also performs building energy audits (ASHRAE Level I – III), facility assessments, life cycle cost analysis, and energy modeling utilizing LEED approved energy simulation programs Trane Trace 700 Building Energy & Economic Analysis and Carrier Hourly Analysis Program (HAP) v4.80.
Electrical Systems Design
SEC performs in-house power distribution and lighting design to support mechanical upgrades, renovations, and new facilities.
SEC has a wide variety of design experience that encompasses virtually every facet of electrical engineering. In addition to the typical type of experience provided by a traditional A/E firms, SEC has specialized experience in medium voltage distribution, telecommunications infrastructure, high altitude electromagnetic pulse protection, sensitive compartmented information facility design, photovoltaic system design, access control, intrusion detection, CCTV and audio visual presentation/control systems.
Plumbing Systems
SEC incorporates water and energy conservation strategies in all domestic cold and hot water systems design as our existing water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Waste flushing is estimated to be one-third of a typical building’s water consumption; SEC specifies industry-proven low and ultra-low flow technologies for water use reduction. In addition to the design of waste, drain, vent, and storm water drainage systems associated with most facilities, we have experience in the more specialized systems including acid waste, grease waste, sand and oil separation systems, and also provided also fuel storage, distribution, and management systems design including aviation fuel.
Other specialized plumbing design includes de-ionized water, cryogenics, and medical gas systems. SEC successfully completed the design for the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s replacement bulk liquid oxygen system for hospital’s existing system. The new system consisted of a 1,585 gallon primary liquid oxygen tank, a 540 gallon reserve liquid oxygen tank, two vaporizers for the primary tank, and one vaporizer was installed for the reserve tank.
Commissioning
SEC has experience commissioning projects for a wide range of clients and building types inclusive of DoD facilities, healthcare facilities, laboratories, historical renovations, K-12 and higher education facilities, sports centers, car dealerships, visitor centers, veterinary clinics, planetariums, prisons, warehouses, and several LEED certified office buildings. Our commissioning process follows that outlined in ASHRAE Standard 202-2013 as adopted by the National Institute of Building Sciences. For the Fort Carson Evans Army Community Hospital Recovery Alterations project, total building commissioning services were provided, including but not limited to building envelope thermography and medical gas systems testing, provided beyond basic LEED requirements of HVAC, domestic water heating, and lighting control systems.
SEC staff have been engaged in over 80 LEED certified and certifiable projects in wide ranges of tasks from developing the Owner’s Project Requirements documents by workshops through analyzing BAS trend logs to verify implemented control sequences and to identify control problems prior to functional performance testing. Projects also commissioned include renewal of military medical facilities to LEED certifiable level of silver at Fort Carson, Fort Benning, Fort Bliss, Fort Huachuca, Fort Riley, and Fort Rucker.
Central Plant and Distribution Systems
The firm specializes in Central Plant and Distribution System projects involving steam and condensate systems, high temperature hot water systems, chilled water systems, and co-generation systems. These systems range in size from small individual building systems to large campus systems.
Fire Protections Systems
The firm provides performance specifications and design criteria to fire protection contractors to coordinate project requirements. These systems include wet-pipe, dry-pipe, deluge, carbon dioxide, aqueous foam, and clean agent gas systems.
Control Systems
The firm provides a wide array of control systems design including direct digital, electric, electronic, pneumatic, and hydraulic type control systems. Experience includes control systems for all types of air handling systems, refrigeration systems, hydronic systems, combustion control systems, and burner management systems.
Measurement & Verification
We have successfully implemented LEED M&V Plans for both Option B: Energy Conservation Measure Isolation or Option D: Calibrated Simulation, per the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) Volume III. Our designs implement sub-metering and power monitoring systems to comply with both the DoD Energy Manager’s Handbook Chapter 10 Metering and with Executive Order 13514 requirements.
Energy Audits & Energy Modeling
SEC has performed energy audits and assessments for a broad range of clients and facility types. We also provide modeling and simulation of energy systems for ASHRAE Level III energy audits and for LEED projects as the mechanical designer.
