SFP Sustainable Facility Operations & Maintenance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A facility manager wants to reduce water consumption in cooling towers. Which chemical treatment approach aligns best with sustainable operations?
- Increasing blowdown frequency to remove dissolved solids
- Optimizing cycles of concentration to minimize blowdown volume
- Using ozone-based treatment to reduce chemical inputs (Correct answer)
- Switching to once-through cooling to eliminate tower maintenance
Correct answer: Using ozone-based treatment to reduce chemical inputs
Ozone-based treatment reduces or eliminates chemical biocides and scale inhibitors, lowering chemical inputs and improving water efficiency in cooling towers.
Question 2: Which preventive maintenance practice most directly extends the service life of HVAC filters while maintaining indoor air quality?
- Replacing filters on a fixed monthly schedule regardless of condition
- Monitoring differential pressure across filters and replacing at set thresholds (Correct answer)
- Using the highest MERV-rated filter available for all applications
- Cleaning and re-using disposable filters to reduce waste
Correct answer: Monitoring differential pressure across filters and replacing at set thresholds
Monitoring differential pressure ensures filters are replaced based on actual loading conditions, optimizing both air quality and filter service life.
Question 3: Under LEED O+M, which prerequisite requires facilities to establish ongoing energy performance tracking?
- Fundamental Refrigerant Management
- Energy Efficiency Best Management Practices
- Minimum Energy Performance
- Building-Level Energy Metering (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Building-Level Energy Metering
Building-Level Energy Metering is a LEED O+M prerequisite requiring whole-building energy data tracking to support performance monitoring.
Question 4: A green cleaning program for a large office building should prioritize which of the following to minimize occupant health impacts?
- Using concentrated products to reduce packaging
- Selecting products certified to standards like Green Seal GS-37 (Correct answer)
- Scheduling all cleaning during occupied hours for efficiency
- Maximizing use of fragranced products to signal cleanliness
Correct answer: Selecting products certified to standards like Green Seal GS-37
Green Seal GS-37 certification verifies that institutional cleaning products meet rigorous health and environmental standards.
Question 5: What is the primary sustainability benefit of implementing a building automation system (BAS) with occupancy-based controls?
- Reducing the need for skilled maintenance technicians
- Automatically adjusting HVAC and lighting to match actual occupancy patterns (Correct answer)
- Enabling remote management to reduce on-site staff travel
- Providing data for regulatory compliance reporting
Correct answer: Automatically adjusting HVAC and lighting to match actual occupancy patterns
Occupancy-based controls in a BAS reduce energy consumption by modulating HVAC and lighting only when spaces are actually occupied.
Question 6: A facility experiences frequent lamp failures in its parking garage. Which retrofit option offers the greatest long-term sustainability and maintenance benefit?
- Switching to high-pressure sodium lamps for better efficiency
- Installing LED fixtures with occupancy sensors (Correct answer)
- Increasing relamping frequency with longer-life fluorescent lamps
- Using induction lighting with manual controls
Correct answer: Installing LED fixtures with occupancy sensors
LED fixtures with occupancy sensors provide superior energy efficiency, very long rated life, and demand-responsive control in parking applications.
Question 7: Which metric is used to evaluate refrigerant environmental impact in terms of both ozone depletion and global warming potential?
- Life Cycle Climate Performance (LCCP)
- Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI) (Correct answer)
- Global Warming Potential (GWP) alone
- Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) alone
Correct answer: Total Equivalent Warming Impact (TEWI)
TEWI combines direct refrigerant emissions and indirect energy-related CO2 emissions into a single metric for evaluating refrigerant environmental impact.
SFP Sustainable Facility Operations & Maintenance 2
A facility manager wants to reduce water consumption in cooling towers.
Which chemical treatment approach aligns best with sustainable operations?