San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center

The San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center is part of the Agricultural Research Service branch of the United States Department of Agriculture. Their facility in Parlier, California was completed in 2000 on a 130-acre tract of land with 100 acres dedicated to agricultural research. Their goal is to provide solutions to agricultural problems while improving crop productivity and quality through innovative crop research in a sustainable manner. The campus consists of an 80,000 SF main building (70% space dedicated to laboratories with the remaining 30% offices) and an additional 30,000 SF of greenhouses and out buildings. The buildings are one story facilities integrated into a central plant managed by Johnson Controls Metasys BAS system. To maintain a high level of performance and energy efficiency in their facility, the USDA hired 3QC to perform re-commissioning services of the HVAC systems.

There are sixteen air handlers – four of which serve the offices and the remaining serve laboratories, shops and environmental rooms. There are two 300- ton centrifugal chillers, two cooling towers, two 4500-MBh natural gas fired boilers in the central plant. There are over sixty fans for the building exhaust and fume hoods. The office areas are served by variable air volume (VAV) systems with return air and the labs are served by VAV systems with 100% outside air.

3QC’s first order of business was to work with the government project team to perform a thorough site investigation and develop a Re-Commissioning plan including functional test performance checklists. Once approved by the government, 3QC implemented the Re-Commissioning plan including working with the testing, adjusting and balancing consultant (TAB) and control system consultant to identify any safety and health repairs, low/no cost repairs, and any possible long term and estimates of the potential work. Should long term repairs be identified, the government performed the repairs and 3QC returned to finish the Re-Commissioning process of those repairs. 3QC’s responsibility included providing a final Re-Commissioning report detailing findings, adjustments, repairs and functional performance tests.