Optima Engineering

Commercial environments depend on proven, leading technologies to extend the lives of buildings and reduce maintenance costs. Carefully studying the total ROI, over the expected lifetime of a building, is only one part of the high-quality services and attention to detail that we offer our clients. Our projects encompass commercial offices, banking and finance centers, high-rise office complexes, warehouses, parking garages and more. Our experience in many types of commercial building needs has given us a wide range of engineering design experience to lean upon, in turn allowing us to provide clients with innovative solutions to difficult design and construction problems.

We have provided mechanical design services for heating, ventilation and air conditioning on a wide variety of facilities across many sectors of the built environment. We bring our mechanical expertise to bear on all types of projects, including new construction, renovations, expansions and upfits. Optima can also study and document existing systems to provide life cycle cost analysis, recommendations and valuable insight to building owners.

The name says it all. Mission critical covers any system whose disruption would also cause a disruption in the organization's operations. Entire organizations, and in many cases their clients as well, rely on these facilities for their day-to-day operations, which creates the necessity for a top-notch design. Above all, reliability, efficiency, and performance are the keys to a high-quality data center infrastructure. On all mission critical projects, Optima's design process ensures our clients will have a functional and dependable infrastructure for even the most critical facilities that might require complex uninterruptable electrical and cooling systems.

Microgrid is one of those phrases you are starting to hear and read about in the journals. Optima has designed several microgrids in the last few years, including the first test Microgrid for the largest Southeast Energy Provider, which connected their first rooftop solar PV system (also designed by Optima) to its grid. Optima also designed Bosch's test microgrid that it used to develop its own DC microgrid solution. We have also designed microgrids for the US Military. Microgrids make more and more sense as Resiliency becomes more important.

Beyond the typical engineering design for fire sprinkler and standpipe systems, Optima's expertise in the areas of protecting buildings from fire hazards includes fire pump design, performance specifications, constructability review, sprinkler system specifications and design/build support. We also offer review and study services for existing sprinkler systems in buildings, as well as water supply analysis and recommendations.

The goal is to produce zero energy buildings which produce as much energy as they consume through energy efficient design and the use of renewable energy technologies. Optima Engineering will work with you to achieve energy reduction, improved indoor air quality, greater water conservation, optimization of operational and maintenance practices and reduced operating expenses. The crucial element of sustainable design is good planning. Optima Engineering has experienced professionals who are familiar with all types of facilities, and understand the different design approaches required for successful sustainable projects.

Renewable plays an important role in many high performance buildings. Optima has designed hundreds of solar PV systems, starting in 2006, including one on the roof of our Charlotte office in 2008. We have also designed many solar thermal systems. When you want to integrate renewable energy systems into your building, look no further than Optima to provide the best solution.

Optima has extensive experience in designing appropriate lighting and corresponding systems for both indoor and outdoor applications. Our design staff is capable of providing all aspects of a commercial lighting package for any project, from fixture selection to controls, photometric studies and energy analysis. During construction on lighting projects, building owners benefit from Optima's expert abilities in fixture aiming, photometric verification, and operations and maintenance coordination.

Optima's experienced team of plumbing designers and engineers have led projects involving domestic hot and cold water systems, storm water systems, sanitary waste and venting, compressed air, acid waste/neutralization, water booster pumps and utility systems. Our design staff includes an ARCSA (American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association) Certified individual. We have provided plumbing engineering design across a variety of sectors and project types, including medical centers, retail outlets, schools and commercial properties.

Among our design specialties in electrical engineering, we offer lighting and lighting control systems, power distribution, power generation equipment specification, communications, access control and security, photovoltaic (PV) systems, utility parallel generation systems, renewable fuels, load-shedding strategies and power monitoring. Optima regularly conducts studies for our clients concerning Arc Flash, lighting and photometric analysis, power quality and load flow, energy and system feasibility.

Optima Engineering has been designing solar photovoltaic (PV) projects since 2007, long before PV became common on the architectural landscape. Optima has also owned and operated its own solar PV system for over 5 years. We have designed over 150MW of solar PV projects, including some 1000V DC systems as well as bipolar arrays. Our experience includes roof mounted, ground mounted, utility scale, and Net Zero Energy buildings. We have also done many studies to prove or disprove the viability of solar PV systems for owners.