Baseline Chiller Modeling for 179D of the IRC Code

[drennon]

Hello All,

I am using VE to generate a baseline and a proposed energy model as a part of pursuing the the 179D Federal tax deduction for a hospital where a chiller replacement project is taking place. The set of 179D guidelines I am using state the following:

"Reference Building Model
Computer simulation model that matches the Taxpayer's Building except that the interior lighting systems, HVAC, SHW, and building envelope comply with the minimum requirements of Standard 90.1-2001.


Proposed Building Model
Computer simulation model that is identical to the Reference Building model except for the systems that are qualifying for the tax deduction. The systems qualifying for the tax deduction shall match the systems in the Taxpayer's Building. This model may not represent the Taxpayer's building exactly for partially qualifying properties."

Given the criteria above, everything in the Reference and Proposed buildings will be the same, except for the chillers. That said, I have modeling the building in ModelIT and assigned the proper materials in Apache, but I am unsure what to do next in Apache HVAC. I know there is a way in Apache HVAC thatI can set up a system with air-cooled chiller, but I am unsure how to modify it's performance criteria in the program to differentiate the old chillers from the new.

Any help and direction on how to best approach this will be greatly appreciated. This is my first time doing this and I am not very experienced in Apache HVAC, so I realize there are questions I may not even know to ask. If I need to provide more information on what I am trying to accomplish I will be happy to do so.

Thanks very much in advance,

David

[Megan]

David,

I suggest starting with the ApacheHVAC user guide available on the website (under the support section, in User Guides). There are many ways to get into the chilled water loop once in ApHVAC (I like the chilled water loop button at the top). From there, you can double click on your chiller and edit accordingly. As you'll have separate HVAC files for your baseline & proposed case, you'll want to go into the chiller dialog for each of them.

If you're only concerned with the difference in chiller performance, this should do the trick!

Thanks,
Megan