Many hospitals are working below peak efficiency, including chiller and condenser systems. This is more often than not because of poorly designed and operated maintenance practices, resulting in high energy costs and unreliable equipment with a short life span. Metropolitan hospitals need efficient procedures with heating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to make for an overall sustainable and performance-driven hospital climate.

 

This has been increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring a focus on hydronic-based heating and cooling for the comfort and safety of patients and staff. A large hospital in New York City needed a solution to ensure the reliability and efficiency of its own HVAC hydronic system. The hospital’s engineering department hired a contractor to produce instrumentation to measure chilled water and condensed water flow for the HVAC system monitoring by the hospital’s new building management system (BMS).

 

This hospital needed to have flow measurement data in the most efficient and economical way while still holding the highest level of precision. When changing water meters in an existing building, there are some construction changes that must take place, which the hospital was unable to undergo to preserve the comfort and safety of patients and staff. Instead, they required flow measurement equipment that could start immediately and installation while the system was still in operation.

 

For this hospital, the Dynasonics TFX-5000 ultrasonic flow meter gave the accuracy they were looking for without compromising flow and energy management and keeping them from shutting down the hydronic chiller system. The hospital’s engineering department successfully completed the flow meter project on record time due to close cooperation with vendors and end-user stakeholders. In the end, time and money were saved while providing the hospital with better hydronic system performance.

 

The Avanti Company was founded in 1977 and provides a wide range of industrial meters. For more information about The Avanti Company and our services, please visit us online.