Trial / Demo
IES Consulting were appointed to provide LEED energy modelling and commissioning services for the expansion of Bausch + Lomb’s largest manufacturing facility in County Waterford, Ireland.
Comprising over 55,000m2, Bausch + Lomb’s Waterford city campus stands as a hub for innovation and manufacturing excellence in the region. Today, the site has grown to be the largest Bausch + Lomb facility in the world, and also one of the most technologically advanced, producing market-leading vision and medical products through cutting-edge manufacturing processes.
In recent years, several expansions have been made to the site, including a ~5,500m² extension to the facility’s existing Area 10 production facility. The two-storey structure, which operates 24/7, 365 days a year, consists of large manufacturing areas, corridors, cartoning/storage areas, an office, meeting room, and plant spaces.
To support the LEED certification process and ensure an energy efficient design, IES were commissioned to conduct integrated building performance modelling for the Area 10 expansion at Waterford. Having delivered over 3,000 dynamic simulation projects, and many LEED projects certified to Gold and Platinum levels, the IES team were well placed to lend their expertise.
The expansion features a number of energy conservation measures (ECMs), all of which were modelled in detail using IESVE software. These included:
The proposed ECMs were simulated in accordance with the ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G (Performance Rating Method) 2010 and compared against the energy consumption of the baseline models, automatically generated in IESVE.
The results demonstrated that energy cost savings of 48.1% could be achieved over the ASHRAE 90.1 2010 baseline, equating to 18 EAc1 points under the LEED v4 BD+C: New Construction rating system. The expansion was successful in achieving LEED Silver certification, making a notable contribution to Bausch + Lomb’s ESG commitments.
To ensure a smooth transition into operation, IES were also appointed to serve as the Commissioning Authority (CxA) and overall manager of the LEED commissioning process for this project, in accordance with LEED BD+C v4 EA Fundamental Commissioning & Verification and EA Enhanced Commissioning Option 2 requirements.
The scope of commissioned systems included:
Construction pre-functional and start-up checklists completed by the installing subcontractors were reviewed by the IES to confirm that equipment arriving on site was undamaged, installed correctly and properly operated, with functional performance testing (FPT) also conducted for all commissioned systems. This enabled IES to identify any issues to be resolved with the installing contractors, as well as advise on any refinements to optimise the operation of the building systems.
Through this process, a number of issues were successfully identified and resolved, many of which related to ensuring system interoperability with the building management system (BMS), replacing and/or adjusting components, and adjustments to the lighting and HVAC controls.
An ongoing commissioning plan and systems manual, developed by IES and issued to the client, will further ensure that the Bausch + Lomb Waterford facility continues to operate efficiently over time.
