ELECTRICAL SYSTEMThe FMC Tower's Electrical system consists of two (2) PECO feeds coming into the building through the basement then subsequently feeds the entire building. There are a total of ten (10) substations within the building, each with their own breakers to control various electrical services to the different pieces of equipment in the building. The pieces of equipment that consume the most energy in the building are the HVAC units. The energy consumption of these units are documented in the "Numerical Parameters" page of this site.
The feeds go into the building through two (2) switchgear services and from there go to substations SGHA and SGHB in the basement. These two substations then directly feed AHU-2 and AHU-3 directly. The air handling units on levels 2 through 17 are all also fed by these two substations and they each have their own disconnect switches locally at the units. The air handling units on levels 18 through 26 are fed through substations SMHA1 and SMHB1 located on level 27. Also located in this mechanical space are substations SMHA2, SMHB2, and SML. SMHA2 feeds the energy recovery unit (ERU-1) on level 27 as well as two (2) chillers (CH-2&3) along with a couple of chilled water pumps. SMHB2 feeds the second energy recovery unit (ERU-2) and the first chilled (CH-1) with a chilled water pump. Substations SPHA, SPHB adn SPL are located on the roof of the tower and feed the residential portion of the tower. SPHA feeds the makeup air unit (MUA-1) and a couple of pumps. SPL and SML work to provide power to the residential spaces for their outlets, appliances, etc. Figure 4: Fluorescent Enclosed Gasketed Elevator Pit Fixture
Figure 6: LED Wall Pack Light Fixture
The Split System Units that serve the elevator machine rooms, security offices, and MDF rooms in the building are on emergency power in order to maintain the setpoint in a fire alarm event.
LIGHTING SYSTEMThe lighting fixtures used throughout the building are shown in Figures 1 through 7. Behind the HVAC equipment, the lighting fixtures draw a lot of the power that is provided to the building so it essential for the lighting fixtures to be efficient. Occupancy sensors are utilized in most of the spaces to easily cut down on unnecessary power consumption when the space in question is unoccupied.
|
Figure 1: 4'-0" Fluorescent Industrial Light Fixture
Figure 2: 55" Fluorescent Wall Mounted Stairwell Light Fixture
Figure 3: 4'-0" Fluorescent High Efficiency Loading Dock Fixture
Figure 5: Compact Fluorescent Utility Vapor Tight Fixture
Figure 7: Illuminated Exit Sign
|
Possible improvements for the Electrical system include utilizing another connection to PECO in order to completely ensure the operation of the FMC Tower's electrical system during an emergency. Another possible improvement for the building's electrical system would be to utilize solar panels on the roof or side of the building that is exposed to Southern sunlight. This would cost more initially, but would reduce the energy provided by PECO in the long run and would cut down on the building's electrical costs.