BTU Engineer’s employees have an average of 23 years of experience in MP design, commissioning, retro-commissioning, energy modeling, and energy feasibility services. Our employees have extensive experience with energy-efficient design, fire life safety system testing, and electrical/mechanical/plumbing systems testing.
BTU Engineers has a hands-on approach to the commissioning process. Our staff is experienced at troubleshooting building failures, working with and training building staff, optimizing operational policies, performing retro and re-commissioning services, monitoring and verifying performance, and providing comprehensive reporting.
BTU Engineers is committed to top-level professional standards. Our associate principals and engineers are given commissioning presentations and training nationwide and serve as officers and active participants in leading organizations, such as the American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).
Key Personnel
BTU Engineers has assembled a successful team of professionals with years of experience in MP design, Commissioning, and the Energy Efficiency industry.
Senthil Arunachalam, P.E., CCP, CEM, BEMP, LEED AP BD+C, EBOM – Principal
With more than 18 years of experience in MEP design review, training, and Building Controls, Mr. Arunachalam is a Licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of California and a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Texas. Mr. Arunachalam has extensive knowledge of MP design, high-performance green buildings, energy conservation, energy modeling, and commissioning. He has contributed to developing and maintaining ASHRAE’s Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP) certification program. Mr. Arunachalam has presented at the Association for Energy Engineers (AEE) World Energy Congress Conference and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).
He has been involved in various MEP design projects, commissioning (Cx), retro-commissioning (RCx), and monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx) projects across the U.S. He has experience with LEED-NC and LEED-EBOM projects throughout the U.S. His responsibilities have included MEP design review, conducting building walkthroughs, collecting and reviewing documents and utility bills, identifying preliminary energy savings measures, and writing and performing functional performance testing for HVAC, lighting, electrical, plumbing, and medical equipment. He also has experience in Measurement and Verification protocols, project pricing, and cost estimation.
Mr. Arunachalam is skilled in utilizing energy simulation tools such as eQUEST, Energy Plus, Trane Tracer, and TREAT. He has used AutoCAD and MS-Visio for plotting electrical and mechanical drawings and MATLAB for data analysis and curve fitting. Mr. Arunachalam holds a Master of Science in Energy Management and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
Geoff Laughlin, P.E. – Associate
With more than 30 years of experience as a Mechanical / Plumbing design engineer, Mr. Laughlin is a Licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer in California. He specializes in Mechanical design and integrated project delivery services. Mr. Laughlin also brings extensive experience as a project engineer focusing on scheduling and project cost management. Mr. Laughlin has been responsible for projects from the conceptual and detailed design through equipment procurement, bidding, construction, start-up, and commissioning. His experience includes HVAC, central plant design, plumbing, fire protection, and building automation controls.
Mr. Laughlin provided design assistance on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Fresno Utility Energy Service Contract (UESC) project, including energy improvement to a 550,000-square-foot office building that processed tax returns and related tax documents. His involvement included preliminary design, energy savings review, subcontractor design review, and contractor pricing for four Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs), including Lighting Upgrades, EMCS Expansion, Chiller, and HVAC replacements.
For the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Monterey, Mr. Laughlin was involved in preliminary design and subcontractor design review for four ECMs, including Lighting Upgrades, Summer Boiler Installation, EMCS Expansion, and Steam Upgrades. He was responsible for the final design work.
Mr. Laughlin holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.