Virginia Department of Forensic Science Energy Projects

Working with The Trane Company, Wiley|Wilson developed award winning design options for the Richmond, Norfolk and Roanoke sites of the Department of Forensic Science. These options have been developed by Trane into alternatives that have been included in their Performance Contract (PC).

The improvements to the labs have yielded an energy savings of over $11 million. Improvements included strategic supply and demand side strategies, chiller plant optimization, improved fume hoods performance, Variable Air Volume and upgrades to both the water and lighting fixtures and heating place.

The project included the following tasks:

Cooling Plant Upgrades – The existing central cooling plants were upgraded to improve performance and efficiency. This work included replacing a chiller, installing a cooling tower bypass line, and replacing motors and variable frequency drives (VFD) on the pumps and cooling tower fans.

Heating Plant Upgrade – The boiler plants were upgraded to provide heating for summer loads. This work included installing high efficiency condensing boilers.

Airside Systems Upgrades – The lab HVAC systems were upgraded to provide better control of space conditioning and lab exhaust. The upgrades included replacing lab exhaust fans, modifying existing fume hood controls, replacing Bio cabinets, replacing existing control devices, installing additional fan coil units, and installing new VFDs and motors on existing air handling units. The fume hood and exhaust fan modifications were tested for compliance with ASHRAE 110.

Ozone Water Treatment – The existing chemical water treatment systems were replaced with ozone treatment systems to reduce chemical usage and operational costs.