A blast from the present

How the Passaic County Technical Institute expanded with VRF

By Dan Vastyan

Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI), in Wayne, New Jersey, is more than just a tech school. Of course the trades are offered, but it’s also a high school, open to students from grades seven through 12 with courses covering everything from criminal justice and finance to automotive technology and culinary arts. It even has an athletic and music program.

The school has grown significantly in recent years, and the need to expand and repurpose its facilities became a priority as the country emerged from the pandemic. Pattman Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, based in Midland Park, New Jersey, received a plan and spec design for an office expansion from PCTI’s architect at the tail end of 2021. The school’s IT department needed more space, and the large second floor of a renovated building was soon to house a variety of new offices.

Pattman focuses exclusively on installation work for institutional and municipal clients. President Jack Pattman started in the mechanical trade in 1983, and began transitioning away from residential work about 15 years ago. “Our first foray into institutional work began 30 years ago with science lab renovations. We’d approach a science project one lab at a time, and we got very good at it. Over the years, our network of district managers and general contractors grew. What started as lab renovations turned into almost anything mechanical that schools might need.” When Pattman Plumbing received the design for a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system to heat and cool the space at PCTI, it determined that heat recovery might be feasible. Given the multiple offices and a large amount of exterior walls making up the space, heat recovery systems were considered and ultimately selected. The company contacted Johnstone Supply’s Keith McGowan, commercial sales manager and Chris Renna, commercial equipment design estimator, to help specify their Fujitsu Airstage line of VRF systems,” Pattman says. “We installed Airstage equipment on a similar job about two years ago—at Fort Lee High School—and Keith was a great help on that project. The original VRF design at PCTI didn’t specify Fujitsu, but I knew that we could accomplish the same thing or better at a lower price point.” Renna crossed the spec from another manufacturer and worked with Pattman to develop design simulator piping, wiring, and control drawings, and included addressing the equipment so Pattman had a clear plan to follow. Renna also was involved with the Fort Lee project and worked well with the team in the field, stopping at the job site to help with any technical questions. Much like Pattman Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, Keith McGowan, commercial sales manager, Johnstone Supply, deals extensively with institutional projects. Across its nine branches, Johnstone works with roughly 50 school districts, helping to identify and design the best solutions for their plumbing and HVAC needs, as well as training the maintenance staff that take over the systems after installation.

Heat recovery

PCTI’s new office space, totaling 2,700-sqare feet, consists of two individual offices, a large, common workspace for numerous desks, and a considerable storage area. The most unique element of the space is certainly its “sky” theme. With lots of window space, the open common area has blue walls and the ceiling features cloud-like, round areas of white grid drop ceiling, very much giving the occupant a feeling of being outside on a partially cloudy day. Above the suspended cloud clusters, the ceiling deck and all mechanical components attached to it are painted flat black. The common work area is a single VRF zone, served by four, 14,000 BTUH ceiling cassettes. The two individual offices are served by 9,000 BTUH ceiling cassettes, while the storage room is heated and cooled via one more 14,000 BTUH cassette. In all, there are four heating and cooling zones, and all zones are connected to a single refrigerant branch unit, meaning that loads across the system are shared from zone to zone before tapping the 10-ton VRF condenser on the roof for capacity. The space is ideal for heat recovery technology. Facing south with an almost entirely glass façade, the sky room receives a great deal of solar gain, meaning that it will remain in cooling mode for the better part of three seasons. Meanwhile, the individual offices and storage areas have no windows or exterior walls. Heat recovery systems capitalize on the conflicting loads across all zones connected to the same refrigerant branch unit. BTUs rejected from one zone with a call for cooling are salvaged and provided to zones with a call for heat. When there is a demand for both heating and cooling in a building, heat recovery can be one of the most efficient heating and cooling options, saving significant energy over conventional systems. Not only are these systems able to provide simultaneous heating and cooling across a single system, but energy is saved in the process. While VRF systems in general are extremely flexible and applicable in almost any building type, heat recovery VRF systems

The disparity between the loads at PCTI were ideal for heat recovery, but there was also an element of the architectural design that greatly benefitted from the flexibility of a VRF system.

specifically are not ideally suited to every scenario. “When varying loads are present, heat recovery systems are in their element,” McGowan says. “When it makes sense, it makes a lot of sense. Heat recovery can save a great deal of energy while providing premium comfort.” The recovery systems are available between six and 24 tons, which means that an engineer could design a system with as many as 63 zones sharing loads throughout a building. “In a properly-designed heat recovery VRF system, connected capacity of the indoor units may be sized to 150% of the total capacity of the outdoor units in the system,” McGowan says. “This is because loads are shared between zones instead of relying solely on the condensing unit.” The disparity between the loads at PCTI were ideal for heat recovery, but there was also an element of the architectural design that greatly benefitted from the flexibility of a VRF system.

VRF technology is growing across all segments of the HVAC market, but especially in educational applications.

Installation flexibility

The 11 drop ceiling “clouds” were suspended only a short distance from the ceiling deck to keep the ceiling as high as possible. Installing ductwork would have lowered the clouds and would have been harder to conceal than the line sets needed for the VRF system. The flexibility in lineset length available with the system simplified the only challenge that Pattman Plumbing encountered on the project. “We had to coordinate closely with the general contractor on placement of the HVAC components in the common area,” says Talib Najjar, GM at Pattman. “They had to mark out where the floating clouds would hang, and we had to hit the drop ceiling grid perfectly in order to place our ceiling cassettes and avoid interfering with light fixtures.” From there, it was not difficult to conceal the refrigerant lines with other mechanical equipment on the ceiling deck, like fire suppression and electricity. The system was commissioned on March 10, 2021. “Chris performed the certified commissioning process and submitted run data to Fujitsu to receive the full extended warranty,” McGowan says. “Since Renna has worked with Pattman before, the commissioning process went very smoothly. Pattman had completed all pre-commissioning tests and was very familiar with what was needed for a successful start-up and commissioning.”

Training for maintenance

Commissioning was only the halfway point of the project for McGowan. He returned to PCTI in mid-May to train A&A Construction, the property maintenance company serving PCTI. The main focus was service and maintenance of the VRF system and its connection to the BAS. Some of the IT staff who work in the offices also attended, so general operation was also covered. “We reviewed the controls, preventative maintenance, and some troubleshooting techniques they may need in the future,” McGowan says. “We also had the maintenance staff download the app for trouble-shooting, then went up to the roof and opened the unit to show them the control panels as well as discussed basic thermostat operation.” A&A Construction liked the system and appreciated the support from Johnstone. It was impressed once it saw and understood Pattman’s installation.

VRF technology is growing across all segments of the HVAC market, but especially in educational applications. More often than not, when a project goes out to bid, the installing contractor only owns the project for a year. After that, a maintenance company like A&A takes over maintenance. It is invaluable for the wholesaler to develop relationships with the maintenance professionals, educate them on the system, and remain available throughout the life of the system. “We’re seeing more and more interest in VRF, especially where ceiling space is limited,” Pattman says. “It’s only going to become more popular with engineers, contractors and architects. Forming relationships with everyone involved is more important than ever, and strengthens our commitment to growing through word of mouth. That approach has worked well for us for a long time, and looks like it will continue to do so.” CCR

Dan Vastyan is President of Common Ground, a trade communications firm based in Manheim, Pennsylvania. He can be reached at DanV@SeekCG.com.