Engineered Systems - December 2008 - (Page 16)

CaseInPoint They also inspected the ﬁltration system. The team clearly had their work cut out for them. They set about a two-pronged strategy of treating the coil with the UV air puriﬁcation technology and capturing the particulates with a series of energy-efﬁcient ﬁlters. Under the direction of Sanuvox’s Osborne, McIntosh measured the A/C coil — its height, width, and thickness. By inputting all of this information into a Sanuvox computer program, they were able to determine that the number of UV lamps that would be required for the system as well as the owner’s return on investment. They determined that this system would require ﬁve rows of four, 40-in UV CoilClean InLine UV lamps which were installed from top to bottom in front of the return side of the coil. McIntosh needed additional rows because the 20-ft-long A/C coil was actually cut and offset into two 10-foot sections. This required him to weld brackets to a metal beam to ﬁt the required number of lamps. On the ﬁlter side, Brewer recommended the Filtration Group’s GeoPleat High Efﬁciency Air Filters. The ﬁlters would reduce energy consumption while providing high levels of air ﬁltration and indoor air quality, Brewer said. In this case, Brewer said the ﬁlters would more than double the efﬁciency of the previous ﬁlter, and still require less energy to push the air through. A total of 98 24-by-24-in. ﬁlter pads were installed. When completed, the ﬁlter measured 14 ft in height and 28 ft in length. Each ﬁlter is 4-in. thick with a MERV 13 rating. Because of the building girders, they could not use ﬁlter pads that were any thicker. The project took four weekends — two weekends to install the UV system, and two weekends for the ﬁlters. Osborne explained that the UV installation normally takes one weekend, but the coil’s design required extra time to build the metal rack that housed the UV lamps. A CLEANER, GREENER BUILDING THAT IS SAVING MONEY For Chung and his tenants, the results have been, in a word, breathtaking. “I noticed the air is crisper,” he said. “And there are no odors. It’s just cleaner, fresher air.” And his cleaning crew reports that they do much less dusting. There are fewer airborne particulates in the air to clean up after. The reaction of tenants has been equally as positive. “A few of the tenants noticed and after we sent out a memo about our new system and its beneﬁts, and they thanked me for being able to breathe cleaner air,” he says. Because innovative technologies were used, the building earned not only LEED® certiﬁcation but also won a prestigious national award for creating a cleaner, healthier indoor environment. Additionally, the installation was also recognized by the National Air Filtration Association with a 2008 National Clean Air Award. The SunTrust building was one of only 15 projects nationwide to receive the award, and it is the ﬁrst time that a project from Florida has been selected for this honor. Chung is also reaping economic beneﬁts as well. He’s saving up to $10,000 in coil-cleaning costs, and then there are the energy savings. “This new system has cut my electric bills by 35%,” he says. Faced with leaking underground chiller piping, the Salt Lake City School District needed a solution that would be leak-proof and inexpensive. A polypropylene pipe system ended up meeting those needs. perience in the industry, he generally prefers solving problems using proven technology. So when he was dealing with underground leaking chilled water piping at an adult extended learning center, a new-to-him piping solution was met with trepidation. Wade Bennion, a principal at Van Boerum & Frank, had introduced Aquatherm polypropylene piping to Woodward as a solution after overcoming his own hesitation about using a piping system other than metal. Bennion said that in 30 years of business, he has never been fond of plastic piping. “My father was the founder of Bennion Associates, and he always said, ‘Every time you use plastic, you get sued,’ so we stayed away from it,” Bennion recalled. Ironically, Aquatherm has been proven in Europe over the past 30 years. After talking at length with Aquatherm representatives and with other facility maintenance professionals who’ve used the product, Bennion realized it was a perfect ﬁt for this project. SOLUTION UNDER THE HORIZON The Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, an adult extended learning center located in Salt Lake City, occupies a ﬁve-story, approximately 118,000-sq-ft building that had served as job services building for 10 years. When the school district bought the building 12 years ago, it completed a mechanical system retroﬁt, including new McQuay chillers and 6-in. ductile iron piping (or slip joints) underground. Six years ago, one of the slip joints came apart, causing glycol and chilled water to spew into the ground. At that point, the plumbers installed new slip joints but Woodward said they neglected to install new stress blocks, which later caused problems. In May 2008, during maintenance and pressure testing, the district’s facility maintenance department discovered a leak. The system had failed due to friction, and the school administration decided to replace only the bad sections of pipe, amounting to 120 ft. Initially Bennion considered replacing the failed pipe with more ductile iron or CPVC. “They were looking at options, and of course, cost was an issue. They were looking for fastest, cheapest, permanent solution, and Aquatherm was the best option,” he said. Aquatherm’s Climatherm piping uses heat-fusion to form con- Done digging: Utah district warms up to piping alternative As HVAC supervisor for the Salt Lake City School District, Jon Woodward usually has his hands full. And with 40 years of ex16 En gi neer ed S y stem s December 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Engineered Systems - December 2008

Engineered Systems - December 2008 Contents Editor's Note HVAC Challenge Back2Basics Case In Point Commissioning Building Automation HVACR Designer Tips Applications Checklist Lakefront Library: Radiant Systems Meet Natural Ventilation Before (And After) The Flood Basics For Refrigerant Chillers Wire-To-Shaft Efficiency For HVAC Pumps Products Glossary Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow’s Environment

Engineered Systems - December 2008

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