Nursing Home Provided with Comfort
Pulaski Health Care CenterFounded in 1987 in the Town of Winamac, Ind., and owned by the Pulaski Health Foundation, Inc., the Pulaski Health Care Center (PHCC) has 58 beds (mostly double rooms; with seven private rooms) and is dedicated to providing a high quality of life, as well as emotional and physical well-being for area citizens 55 years of age and older.
Indiana’s First
The nursing home was heated with forced air furnaces. The air-conditioning coils were located between the furnaces and the air handlers that supplied make-up air. Because the burners and fire boxes were not made of stainless steel, they were in a serious state of deterioration. This caused major cooling and heating deficiencies in the nurses’ station, hallways and laundry facilities. McGrath Refrigeration, Knox, Ind., was contacted to correct this problem in spring 2004.
J.D. McGrath contacted Mitsubishi Electric distributor Paul Quigley, Excelsior Mfg. & Supply, Hobart, Ind., to request a PHCC walk-through. At this meeting, Quigley introduced the revolutionary Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning system from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions, Suwanee, Ga., to McGrath because he saw that its advanced INVERTER technology was a perfect solution for PHCC’s control and efficiency problems. McGrath, whose grandfather established the first refrigeration business in Starke County, later became the first dealer in the state of Indiana certified to install Mitsubishi Electric’s VRF zoning units.
VRF Zoning Training
“Two weeks after that meeting, J.D. and I were on a flight to Atlanta to attend a Mitsubishi Electric VRF system training class and hone our design skills,” Quigley said. “Each evening in Atlanta, we spent most of our time applying the new things we were learning and setting them in motion for our final PHCC design.
“Upon return from Atlanta, we were joined at the PHCC by Dan Hansen, A to Z Sales, Elmhurst, Ill. We did a physical walk-through and conducted a system interview with the facility director to ensure that he was comfortable with our design.
Two weeks later when the Board unanimously approved my proposal, they were almost as excited as we were to be installing the very first Mitsubishi Electric VRF zoning Building Comfort Solution in the state of Indiana,” McGrath noted.
The Healthcare Center Installation
The McGrath/Quigley plan specified a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning system for the hallways, laundry room and nurses’ station. The Mitsubishi Electric R2-Series was selected because of its sophisticated controls network, its ability to simultaneously cool and heat different spaces and hallways, its quiet operation, its individualized climate control capabilities and effective energy usage.
Before installing the VRF system, McGrath had to first remove an old 400,000 Btu/h furnace and a 15-ton condenser unit. He then built a small concrete pad in the back of the PHCC to hold the outdoor unit. The controller units, linesets, hundreds of feet of pipes and wiring were then installed in the attic, connecting the air handlers in the hallways and ducted unit in the laundry room to the outdoor unit.
“We did our homework and followed the Mitsubishi Electric installation procedures to a T,” McGrath said.
“Not surprisingly, the installation went flawlessly and the initial start-up went extremely well.”
The Many Benefits of Mitsubishi Electric
McGrath said follow-up calls placed over the next few weeks were met with happy customers who commented on how quiet the units were and how perfect the temperatures were throughout the facility. PHCC Administrator Sharon McKinley said, “The building now has consistent temperatures day after day, from one zone to another, and I am impressed with the system’s quietness and energy efficiency.”
McKinley also commented on the ease of installation. “Not having to incorporate ductwork left us with no major renovation. I am also happy with the results reflected in my monthly energy bills! Mitsubishi Electric has helped us save tremendously. But, by far, the largest benefit of all is the comfortable environment this system has provided for our patients, staff and visitors.”
Mitsubishi Electric Training: A Technician’s Dream
“As a third-generation HVAC Contractor, installing Indiana’s first Mitsubishi Electric VRF zoning system was a significant event for me,” McGrath said. “However, even more important were the days I spent in the Mitsubishi Electric training classes in Atlanta. This is one of the greatest training facilities I have ever been to. Mitsubishi Electric is way beyond the competition. The hands-on classes truly aid in learning and they opened my eyes to new ideas.
“The genius is in the simplicity of the technology,” McGrath said. “That really impressed me. I discovered a perfect example of this in the Pulaski job. The biggest selling point of the healthcare center installation is the system’s heat transfer ability. Essentially, heat energy is recovered from one space and sent to another. This innovative process results in virtually no energy wasted by being expelled outdoors. This special function resulted in optimum energy usage, and I know the PHCC has saved money on their energy consumption.”
