O’Dell Associates, together with the team from McKenzie Mechanical and Van-Del Contracting, provided an alternative air handling solution for a new retirement home.
Conditioning ventilation air is typically the single largest source of energy consumption in a facility. In this case, the original design incorporated a 7,000-cfm air handling unit with packaged gas heat, direct expansion (DX) cooling and a sensible-only heat pipe energy recovery device. We knew there was a better solution that could improve efficiency and cut costs. (Check out our blog for details on different energy recovery technologies.)
Working with Bousquet, a unit was designed using an enthalpy wheel for total latent and sensible energy recovery. With the correct energy recovery technology, a number of efficiencies were realized, specifically:
- Reduced size of integral humidifier capacity by 100lbs/hr
- Reduced cooling by 82-MBH (>6 tons)
- Reduced heating by 350-MBH
The owners approved the revised design, resulting in initial capital cost savings and future energy savings. This is a great example of a complete team of professionals that included general contractor, mechanical contractor and sales engineer—all working together to deliver value to the building owner.