The purpose of this report is to show and state findings found from researching the proposed topics in the thesis proposal. The depth topics include relocating the Durango Public Library to the Miami area, studying the energy changes by replacing one of the rooftop units with a dedicated outdoor air system, and sizing a desiccant wheel to assist in dehumidification. Three mechanical system selections will be compared in the report. System 1 consists of the original mechanical system found in the library. System 2 has a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) with active chilled beams that replaces the second rooftop unit (RTU). Also, RTU-1 will be increased in size to account for any unmet cooling loads. System 3 will be the same as system 2 except for the addition of a desiccant wheel to the DOAS unit and the RTU. The systems with the DOAS unit will be supplied with cold water from a chiller and heating by electric resistance. These systems will not have the hot water loop included in the original design.

After performing energy models and sizing equipment, both the second and third systems performed better than the original. System 1, after performing a design simulation in Carrier’s Hourly Analysis Program (HAP) was found to have 1343 unmet cooling load hours annually out of 3701 hours of equipment load. 877 of those unmet hours were from a capacity insufficiency of more than 10%. After increasing the RTU-1 from a 60 ton packaged unit to a 70 ton in system 2 and 3 the unmet cooling hours decreased to 32, 29 of those being between 0%-5% insufficiency. System 3 totals 5 unmet cooling load hours, all of them being between 0%-5% insufficient.

Along with the increase in unit size, the annual building cost increased from 1.644 $/sq. ft. in system 1 to 1.96 $/sq. ft. for system 2. Most of this price increase occurred from air systems fans usage in system 2 to meet the cooling loads needed for each zone and heating costs to dehumidify the air. System 2 also increased the total cost of the system from $28.79 per square foot to $29.68 per square foot. System 3 increases the total system cost to $30.30 per square foot but lowers annual costs to 1.79 $/sq. ft. The payback period for system 3 compared to system 2 is roughly 3.9 years. System 1 was excluded from the payback comparison since the equipment is not sized to handle the cooling loads in the Miami climate.

The structural breadth shows the importance of proper siding on a building to help prevent damage to people and other buildings. Miami is the second most vulnerable city to hurricanes in the United States and hurricanes are known for creating lots of property damage. The Resysta CP 140 Composite Cladding Panels meet the Florida Building Code for missile impact as well as pressure changes. This material is recommended for the library siding to help prevent injuries to people and property damage to the building.

The addition of sub meters to the Durango Public Libraries’ panelboards and natural gas lines can help provided detailed statistics to future buildings of similar designs. They can also lead to decreases in savings of up to 45% while only costing about $8,000.