High efficiency hydronic upgrade brings 150-year-old historic facility into the now

Driving energy efficiency in commercial buildings is a delicate balancing act. Between the equipment selection process, choice of partners and structural considerations, a fair amount of foresight must go into a project’s overall system design.

This was evident at Plummer Youth Promise, a cornerstone establishment on Winter Island, a 54-acre peninsula situated just northeast of Salem, Massachusetts. The 150-plus-year-old child welfare organization is renowned as much for its history as for the services it provides to this small, historic community. Driven by the sheer age of the building and a desire to keep modernizing its facilities and continue serving residents, Plummer Youth Promise embarked on a mission to steward the property through sustainability and environmental initiatives — including plans for a new facility and to expand its services to additional youth, as part of a two-year $25 million capital improvement project.

When considering restoration initiatives of the existing building, as well as the construction of the new residential facility, it was just as much about preserving the structural integrity as it was about complying with modern-day expectations for improved occupant comfort, energy efficiency and adherence to evolving regulations and standards, particularly considering the already temperamental heating system and cramped lodging.

The right equipment—and partners—make all the difference

According to Chris James, application engineer with New England supplier Fluid Industrial Associates (FIA) and one of the partners on the project, many technical considerations were evaluated during the initial planning phase. In addition to structural-related damage, the HVAC system upgrade required navigating how to fit a large number of pumps into three relatively small mechanical spaces. It also required identifying a more sustainable and economical option to heat and cool its facilities—all while adhering to the required three feet of clearance in front of electrical equipment, as stipulated by the National Electric Code (NEC).

Xylem’s hydrovar X-enabled smart pumps were selected for their compact design, intuitive programming and ease of serviceability. Like traditional variable frequency drive (VFD) pumps, these adjust motor speed based on a set point. Unlike traditional VFDs, though, Xylem's design offers additional control features, including a guided tool that takes users through the startup process and the ability to set alarm thresholds that protect the application from something going wrong, such as ramping up or down or turning off and on.

“What we have done is embedded our own proprietary software tailored around pumping applications and paired it with a startup Genie. Based off the user’s input, it’s going to set hundreds of different parameters behind the scenes to make it nice and efficient for them,” noted Derrick Oberdorf, Americas product manager, Xylem.

What’s more, no wiring between the motor and VFD makes it easy to separate the two and easily replace one or the other, driving solution longevity.

Real results, measured in real-time

Now, the original residential facility—built in 1867—features a modern hydronic heating and cooling system. Knowing that water is 3,500 times more efficient at transferring heat than air doesn’t hurt, either.

In addition to a high-efficiency heating and cooling system, contractors on the project drilled nearly 50 geothermal wells over 300 feet into the ground, an addition that brings nearly 400% to 500% efficiency to the facility. What's more, long-term operating and maintenance costs are projected to be reduced by approximately $7 million compared to traditional systems.

In a solar-powered geothermal system, heat is harvested from the ground to efficiently exchange warm and cool air. A typical geothermal system consists of the ground heat exchanger, the heat pump unit and the air delivery system. This means that selecting the right equipment is instrumental in ensuring that the system runs at peak performance over time.

In the case of Plummer Youth Promise’s system, Larry Lessard, director of Achieve Renewable Energy (ARE), which led the HVAC design and installation, echoed this, stating: “Xylem’s pump system is incredibly important because it would be a shame to have all that efficiency and then have it dragged down by inefficient pumps.”

Collaboration leads the way

Aesthetically speaking, proper selection and sizing of equipment can help maintain the inherent structure of a historic building. From a more technical standpoint, taking the time to choose the right equipment can reduce initial costs and increase long-term operating efficiency. After all, there’s a reason why standards like ASHRAE are routinely evaluated and updated to dictate minimum energy performance in HVAC systems. In our industry, there is no such thing as not evolving.

Facility managers, consulting specifying engineers, building owners and more are all too familiar with these expectations and often tasked with the impossible: how do you work within the parameters you have but stretch your design to meet modern-day design requirements? While it’s not every day we get to confront this very question with a building as old as 150 years old, it became evident at Plummer Youth Promise that the answer lies in collaboration to advance modern-day heating and cooling solutions. Andrew Pratt, FIA Inc. president, echoed this, offering that projects of this nature are beneficial in providing context for the work they do: “It gets us an opportunity to get out and engage with the end user and understand truly how the equipment that we size and select benefits facilities and programs like this."

“At Plummer, we believe every young person deserves a family that’s there for them long-term,” said Jessica Norton, community partnerships manager, Plummer Youth Promise. “Creating a space where they feel supported and connected to the environment is a big part of that. Partners like Bell & Gossett and FIA are supporting our mission through their hard work and dedication to the people we serve.”

Just as the waves of Plummer Youth Promise’s waterfront setting set the tides for a tranquil and therapeutic environment for the children it supports, so too did the equipment process set the tides for a system design that has set Plummer Youth Promise on the path for another successful 150 years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Derrick Oberdorf is the Regional Product Manager, Monitoring & Controls for Xylem’s Americas region. In this role, Oberdorf is responsible for executing the regional product strategy, including variable frequency drives, condition monitoring devices/ solutions, control boxes and soft starters.