Retro-Commissioning Services (5th and 6th Floors)
About the Facility
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is an internationally renowned, public doctoral research university and academic health center located in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama. The Boshell Diabetes Education and Research Building is an eight-story, 129,600 sq. ft. medical research and administrative facility on campus. The building was constructed in 1973 and has had multiple renovations since its completion date.
AT A GLANCE
UAB Boshell Building Facts
4M Project Cost
129K Square Feet
2020 Completion Date
Scope of Work
Sain Engineering Associates, Inc. (SEA) provided retro-commissioning services for the HVAC system and lighting as part of this major renovation of its 5th and 6th floors. The facility is conditioned by six air handling units and more than 250 terminal units. Chilled water and steam are provided by a district chiller and steam plant. The facility has multiple steam heat exchangers used to produce hot water for hydronic heating and domestic hot water.
The majority of the retro-commissioning process has been performed with the facility occupied. Additionally, SEA performed select HVAC tests while the facility was completely removed from the local power grid and running on a local emergency generator.
Our services included design review, preparation of a commissioning plan and issues log for the HVAC, electrical, building automation controls and lighting. Included as part of SEA’s work was the testing, adjusting, and balancing (TAB) of the new terminal boxes and interlocked lighting controls.
The challenges of isolating segments of the services while maintaining occupancy have been overcome through attention to detail, clear test procedures and timely communication.
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