Corrections Center, Alachua County (Gainesville, FL)

After a series of investigations done by other firms, the cause of excessive humidity at the Alachua County Corrections Center was finally determined by Dr. West using detailed computer modeling. The elusive nature of the root-causes was due to their being several factors, none of which alone was enough to explain the inadequate dehumidification. Acting together, this combination resulted in humidity levels of 70 to 90% rh. Causes included pressure imbalances within the building, miscalibrated damper actuators, TAB errors, and control system programming oversights. An adjust, balance, and commissioning specification was developed and engineering oversight was provided to ensure that every detail of the specification was properly implemented. Due to this attention to detail, an airflow problem was traced to a measurement error by the TAB contractor. Humidity levels are now maintained below 60%rh and the County is enjoying $80,000 per year energy savings.