Case Study
Hospital
Customer: Hospital
Objective
solution
Results
Instant Hot Water Package Replaces Tanks for Five-Figure Annual Savings
Some utilities managers think that if their facility needs plenty of hot water readily available, they need big tanks of it always ready to go. With modern steam-heated instantaneous hot water systems such as Spirax Sarco’s EasiHeat package, facilities have a much more energy-efficient approach to plentiful hot water. A major hospital in San Antonio, Texas, has recently become the latest to realize the efficiency of the EasiHeat approach.
Time for an Upgrade
Built in stages, the hospital had multiple hot water systems for both domestic and heating water. In the basement, four steampowered, storage tank hot water generators provided domestic hot water. Two units handled Floors 1 - 4, while the other two units handled Floors 5 - 12. Recently, the hospital entertained proposals for new hot water generators, deciding that the advanced age and excessive maintenance costs of these systems made an upgrade necessary.
A consulting engineer’s solution was to install four new hot water storage tanks, with four instantaneous hot water heaters. Two of these were sized at 275 GPM and two at 75 GPM. While reviewing an equipment supply query, Spirax Sarco convinced the hospital’s project engineer that the heat exchangers were oversized and that the storage tanks were unnecessary. Even when insulated, the large hot water tanks would act as huge radiators, emitting heat constantly and wasting boiler fuel. Spirax Sarco’s proposed deliverables carried a significantly lower price tag; however, the design and timetable were set.
Meeting Demand Without Storage
Before implementation, a budget crunch hit the hospital, and Spirax Sarco was called in to work with the consulting engineer to optimize the design. With the projected water demand adjusted downward and the storage tanks proven unnecessary, the consultant designed the new system as EasiHeat instantaneous water heaters supplying 75 GPM each. The packages included a ⅓ - ⅔ pressure reducing station with moisture separator and four 75 GPM EasiHeat units with ⅓ - ⅔ LEA control valves and pump/trap (2” x 2” PTC/FTB- 175) condensate return systems.
Five-Figure Annual Savings
The EasiHeat instantaneous hot water packages met the hospital’s demand for domestic hot water under all operating conditions. The installation was able to save the customer an estimated $11,000/year in reduced maintenance and energy costs.