At Providence Alaska Medical Center, the RESO team improved the cooling efficiency to save cooling energy costs and improve cooling for the hospital, including critical environments (i.e., operation rooms).
Historically, the existing cooling systems were designed based upon a maximum outdoor temperature of 76° F. Unfortunately, it is more common to exceed that temperature, resulting in the need to ensure that cooling systems can work at peak efficiency.
A recent cooling system improvement involved installing Flow Control Pressure Independent Control valves that give each air handler cooling coil the proper flow for maximum cooling.
With the proper balance, there is no longer the need for back-feeding cool water through the chiller and reducing efficiency. The team is witnessing an 8-10° differential between supply and return water temperatures. Installation of the new Elysator filters in the chilled water piping loop keep the fluid clean and in top condition.
Additional sensors were installed to monitor the flow volumes and temperatures of the chilled water system. Data collected from these sensors will facilitate driving decisions and engineering for the replacement of chiller #3 and its cooling tower.
The project was led by John Bush, senior manager, design and construction, and Bill Frost, building automation engineer.