The Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2017 HVAC & Building Automation Systems Study indicated that 57% of engineers specify, design, or select products for educational facilities—and eight in 10 of these engineers are responsible for determining the requirements/writing specifications for these projects. Below are five HVAC and BAS findings as they relate to educational facility projects:

1. Design value: Engineering firms are specifying $2.8 million annually, on average, in HVAC and BAS products for new and existing educational facilities, with 28% specifying more than $5 million. The top revenue-generating systems include air handlers and fans/air movement products.
2. HVAC challenges: Six out of 10 respondents agree that energy efficiency and an inadequate budget for good design are affecting the future of HVAC systems in educational facilities.
3. BAS challenges: More than 40% of respondents reported interoperability/complementing systems and inadequate budgets as top challenges when designing BAS for educational facilities.
4. Products specified: HVAC controls (78%), air handlers (77%), and fans/air movement (76%) are the top three HVAC equipment types or control systems being specified into educational facility projects.
5. Specifications: For educational facilities, mechanical engineers are most frequently writing performance (77%) or prescriptive (74%) HVAC and controls specifications.

View more information at www.csemag.com/2017HVACBAS. Amanda Pelliccione is the research director at CFE Media. 

Other research notes:

53: Average age of an engineer responsible for specifying, designing, or making electrical or power system selections. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2016 Electrical and Power Study

24% of engineers agree that having inadequate budgets for good design pose an extremely difficult challenge with lighting engineering and design. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2017 Lighting & Lighting Controls Study

6 in 10 engineers are responsible for recommending the brand of HVAC systems, equipment, and controls used in projects. Source: Consulting-Specifying Engineer 2017 HVAC & Building Automation Systems Study

More research
Consulting-Specifying Engineer covers several research topics each year. All reports are available at www.csemag.com/research. 

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