Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.
Issue link: https://mcdmag.epubxp.com/i/105316
PRODUCT A P P L I C AT I O N Mitsubishi Electric provides individually zoned comfort at reduced costs for Mississippi hospital R ush Health Systems serves residents in eastern Mississippi and western Alabama with a variety of inpatient, outpatient and community services. In addition to the 215-bed Rush Foundation Hospital, the healthcare organization operates two critical-access hospitals, one long-term, acute-care hospital, a nursing center, a home-health agency and 27 family medical clinics. "As we have expanded over the years, we've always solved our cooling and heating needs by adding onto our central four-pipe chilled water and boiler system," said Fred Rogers, vice president, chief resource officer and facility manager. "Over the past years, however, we have had increasing patient dissatisfaction with the temperature and comfort factor in our patient rooms." Rogers needed a new HVAC solution that provides individual zones for each room. Rogers discovered Variable Refrigerant Flow zoning systems from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating Solutions. Rogers picked up the phone and gave Alex Weddington, vice president, General Supply & Machine, Co. a call. Weddington explained the benefits the hospital would enjoy from the Mitsubishi Electric R2-Series VRF design and Mitsubishi's INVERTER-driven compressor technology. Rogers learned that Mitsubishi Electric's VRF zoning system was the only two-pipe system in the industry delivering simultaneous cooling and heating. The system could www.mcdmag.com deliver personalized, zoned comfort to each room in the renovated women's services center. Mississippi's outdoor temperatures fluctuate between from 80 to 100+ F with high humidity eight months a year. VRF zoning systems automatically adjust the motor compressor speed to react dynamically, delivering the exact amount of refrigerant needed to maintain the temperature inside. Rogers concluded that a comfortable interior environment would be maintained, while saving the hospital considerable energy costs. "The VRF system continues to impress us with Mitsubishi's INVERTER technology, the advanced system design and its highly-responsive cooling and heating performance," said Phillip McLain of McLain Plumbing & Electrical Service, Inc."The Rush installation was a snap. My foreman, John Kinard, had excellent Mitsubishi Electric training in Atlanta. Kinard and one of our technicians installed all the equipment, piping and wiring in less than two weeks. We had the system factory-started by one of Weddington's men in mid-January (2007), and it has been running flawlessly." Rogers predicts that hospital administrators and healthcare providers will appreciate the system's design, which provides the quietest possible operation for both indoor and outdoor environments. The indoor units are super quiet, running from 24 decibels at low speed to about 47 decibels at high speed, or about the sound of a whisper. Rogers was equally impressed with the multiple styles of indoor units from which he could choose. He said the VRF system options helped build a truly unique whole-building solution that fits the function and comfort needs of each station in the center. "I have a very strong instinct that my Mitsubishi Electric investment was the right thing," Rogers said. "Our patients are going to love the individual room controllers and the amazing quietness of the operation. "The two-pipe system is going to save us money, give me added capacity to my central system, and the variable frequency drive will provide much needed energy efficiency. However, the greatest pleasure is that the system is taking the load off my old chillers, which are huge energy hogs. I call this the great energy swap-out." To learn more about unique, wholebuilding solutions from Mitsubishi Electric, visit mitsubishipro.com. January/February 2013 | Medical Construction & Design 63