VRF – SUCCESS STORY
David R. Olson, July 28, 2021 I attended an open house hosted by Joe and Kristen, the owners of the new net zero home constructed by University of Colorado Solar Decathlon participants. The open house was held on June 23, 2021 and was open to all interested parties of the project. This home was constructed…
2021 Solar Decathlon
In April, 2021 I was honored and pleased to be asked to participate as a Juror for the 2021 Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. I was assigned to the Office Division of the Design Challenge competition. My fellow Jurors (Christine Gibney of AGU, Rauzia Ally of Leo A. Daly, and Max Driscoll of HOK) and I…
COVID-19 and Buildings
David R. Olson, PE, LEED AP, FASHRAE A year ago, many of us had no idea what was coming. I was still getting up each day and going to work in my office, about 7 miles away. I worked in a small office with about eight other people. We all had our space, and interacted…
VRF – VARIABLE REFRIGERANT FLOW
David R. Olson, PE Everybody is doing it. There are dozens of companies marketing their version of VRF. One manufacturer (Daikin) calls it VRV – just to be different, I think. There are similarities in all these systems. They are available in several different configurations and they are very energy efficient – a plus for…
Engineering vs. Design
David R. Olson, PE I was recently asked to consider the difference between “Engineering” and “Design”. The following represents my thoughts about this important distinction. State of Colorado Definitions of Engineering The licensing requirements for professional engineers are defined by statute in each State. In Colorado, Statute 12-25-114 defines the minimum requirements for registration as…
Engineering Firm Staff Responsibilities
David R. Olson, PE, LEED AP The following represents a typical small engineering firm team make-up and associated responsibilities. There are likely to be more tasks required of each position than listed below. The various duties listed are possible, but not inclusive. Principal – This person usually is the company owner and principal engineer. He…
Horizontal Offsets
David Olson, PE I did my first building code plan review in 1991, a grocery store in Brighton, Colorado. I worked as a sub-consultant to an architect who had a good relationship with the local building official. I took on the project with a little anxiety, never anticipating that 24 years later I would still…
Outside the Snow Falls
Outside, the snow has started to fall. It’s the kind that has big fluffy flakes, spiraling down to the ground. Good for snowmen and playful snowballs thrown from neighborhood forts. It gets dark early these days. For now though, it’s peaceful and quiet. Looking up at the newly lighted streetlights is hypnotizing. Thousands or millions…
Thermostats – On or Auto?
David R. Olson, PE, LEED AP Most thermostats utilized in commercial applications include one or more operating functions. They all can control to a heating or cooling setpoint, or both. Some thermostats include manual changeover from heating to cooling and visa-versa, and some have a setting which will permit the thermostat to determine if heating…
Trap Primers – Are They Really Necessary?
DAVID R. OLSON, PE Wikipedia defines Old Wives Tales as follows: “Old wives’ tale is an epithet used to indicate that a supposed truth is actually a superstition or something untrue, to be ridiculed. It can be said sometimes to be a type of urban legend, said to be passed down by older women to…
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