Energy Efficiency and Collection Preservation at Valparaiso University Library

Valparaiso University

Founded in 1859, Valparaiso University is situated on a 310-acre campus, home to nearly 4,000 students from most states across the nation and more than 40 countries worldwide. With plans to nearly double enrollment in the coming years, the university decided to build a new library facility to better serve the expanding student base.

KJWW Engineering was selected as the engineering designer for the new facility and immediately started looking for ways to design an energy efficient facility that would serve the university’s needs for years to come. Because the facility houses the University’s collection of reference materials and extensive book collections, maintaining the building’s environment in an energy-efficient manner became crucial. To preserve the collections, temperature and humidity control was essential and finding a budget friendly approach was even more important.

KJWW called upon Mee Fog to design a humidification system that would provide the desired humidity control they desired in an energy-efficient manner. The building features two custom air handlers, each rated at 55,000 cfm and operating on Variable Air Volume (VAV) economizer cycles. The units are served by a single high-pressure Mee Fog pump that provides 1000 psi water to the nozzle headers via staging solenoids.

The system is controlled by the building control system, and the system status is available campus wide. Each unit has a maximum load of approximately 400 #/hr. The load is matched by using staging solenoids which bring on nozzle headers in various combinations. Excess moisture that is not absorbed into the air stream is collected on droplet filters and drained away. The total electrical load for this system is 2.25 kW. Annual energy savings, as compared to gas fired steam generating humidifiers, is in excess of $40,000, with a further reduction of $3,000 in annual maintenance costs.