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Spinning Wheel Cuts HVAC Costs
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Energy-recovery systems deliver comfort and savings for a healthcare facility.
Eddy Village Green skilled-nursing care center, Cohoes, NY, consists of 16 ranch-style homes modeled after The Green House, a concept that eliminates the institutional feel of traditional nursing facilities. Serving the elderly of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area, each of the cost-effective, 8,400-sq.-ft. units includes 12 private bedrooms and bathrooms surrounding a core public area. The facility’s HVAC system uses 13-ton HVAC units with an integrated ERV energyrecovery wheel (also know as a heat or enthalpy wheel) from Airxchange, Rockland, MA, that supplies 3,500 cubic feet/minute of outside air to each Green House. The ERV systems provide exceptional comfort and indoor-air quality and reduce energy costs. Because the systems operate so effi ciently, SMRT, Latham, NY, the architectural/ engineering fi rm that confi gured the facility’s system, specifi ed 13-ton units instead of 18- ton units with no energy recovery. Units are mounted on a curb adjacent to each structure. With an energy-effi ciency ratio/unit of 11.2
Eddy Village Green individual nursing units serve senior citizens in ranch-style homes and use energy-recovery wheels to provide quality indoor air and ventilation.
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An energy-recovery wheel from Airxchange works with an HVAC unit.
and a recovery-effi ciency ratio of 80, the units provide a 42% improvement over an HVAC system with no energy recovery.
With rising energy costs and climate concerns, energy-recovery wheels are ideal ways to reduce HVAC costs while complying with code-mandated outside-air requirements. The wheels recycle the heating and cooling energy in exhaust air (not the air itself), thereby reducing the load on an HVAC system.
The results are impressive. Based on local utility rates, Northeast Health, Troy, NY, the regional healthcare network that administers Eddy Village Green, saves $1,448/unit/year or $23,168/year for 16 units. The system also has proven to be reliable and easy to maintain.
“There has never been a complaint about air freshness,” says Tom Gray, Northeast Health’s director of facilities management. Gray also emphasizes the quiet operation of the system, which provides continuous comfort despite the region’s very cold winters and hot, humid summers.
“Keeping the wheel segments clean could not be easier,” adds Gray. “We slide the cassette part-way out of the unit and remove the segments for quick cleaning when the fi lters are changed. We recently purchased a spare set for those times when an overnight soak is required to remove grease or oily contaminants.”
Denis Boyce, sales engineer for L.J. Early Co. Inc., Albany, NY, provided support in the design and selection of the Eddy HVAC systems. He said, “I am seeing greater use of integrated units with energy-recovery wheels. Our experience with Airxchange has been excellent. Their products are well-designed and reliable. Their technical support provides prompt and knowledgeable answers to our applications and aftermarket service questions. And their fi ve-year warranty gives our clients an added measure of confi dence in choosing Airxchange energy recovery.”
