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Case Study

Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Preserving culture and collections

Since 1992, Fernbank has trusted us as a long-term partner to help maintain and modernize its facilities with a holistic approach that combines energy efficiency, environmental and building controls, and digital technologies for more resilient and sustainable museum operations.

Testimonial

“Siemens has been a partner to Fernbank for over 30 years. That kind of long-term relationship matters. If you switch providers, you lose knowledge and efficiencies. And with systems as important as our HVAC, building automation, and fire and life safety systems, you need a partner who understands how those systems work and how this building operates."

~ Dana Harvey - Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

At Fernbank museum little boy is looking through a telescope.

Modernizing Fernbank: The Siemens approach

We worked alongside museum leadership and facility staff to design a phased, multi-year modernization program that aligned with the museum’s mission and the practical realities of operating a high-use facility with exacting standards. This approach incorporated the replacement of aging infrastructure and introduced advanced automation and digital solutions to create consistent performance, energy efficiency, redundancies and long-term resilience.

Central plant improvements

  • High-efficiency chillers selected for superior part-load capability and redundancy
  • Variable frequency drives (VFDs) on pumps to enable a variable primary flow strategy
  • SweepClear filtration to keep condenser water system clean
  • Upgraded refrigerant monitoring and mechanical room exhaust systems for safety
  • Ongoing mechanical services for chillers, cooling towers and AHUs

Ongoing digitalization

  • Smart Building Assessments to identify opportunities and monitor performance
  • Building X Operations Manager to remotely operate and monitor building equipment and applications in real time, boost productivity, reduce travel costs and minimize downtime

Airside improvements

  • Replacement of aging air handling units (AHUs) with fan wall systems, adding redundancy and improving efficiency
  • Dynamic VAV Optimization (DVO) to balance comfort and energy savings
  • UV disinfection lighting to keep coils clean, which enhances the life of coils and allows for reduced pressure drop
  • Electronic actuators to replace pneumatic controls

Fire + life safety upgrades

  • Desigo Fire Safety Compact system for flexible, scalable fire protection that adapts to new conditions
  • Building X Fire Manager for remote, secure access and monitoring of the fire system