The Situation
This large government facility had a centralized high-temp water system which was scheduled for decommissioning. The old system included an aging two pipe changeover heating and chilled water piping system, which included high-temp hot water heat exchangers from their previous integration project. This is a very busy government complex which could not afford to interrupt their daily operations.
Our Approach
We designed a comprehensive retrofit that converted the existing high-temperature system to a modern, efficient low-temperature variable flow system. The new design provided improved efficiency while maintaining the ability to serve the existing building infrastructure.
The Work
- Conversion from high-temp to low-temp variable flow hot water system
- Installation of three 500 MBH high-efficiency condensing boilers
- Complete heat exchanger replacement and integration
- Pump system upgrades with variable speed drives
- Extensive piping modifications and control system upgrades
- Integration with existing building automation systems
Special Coordination Requirements
Several factors complicated this project. First, the boiler flue needed to be installed within an existing masonry chimney which extended from the basement to the roof several stories above. The boiler plant was located in the existing mechanical equipment room in the parking garage. Our team designed a plan which would complete all work while enabling this facility to remain operational during the upgrade.
