There are a lot of unknowns affecting the healthcare industry, including the economy, pending legislation, and insurance reforms. Yet the sector still provides opportunities for contractors who are willing to change their approach to assist facility managers and align their work with healthcare administrators’ business goals.

Decision makers at healthcare facilities worldwide identified energy management as critically important in a 2012 study. What was discovered in the study and what does it mean for contractors? 

Central Vermont Medical Center (CVMC) is making significant progress to reducing its energy consumption. Across the hospital, energy consumption has been reduced without sacrificing patient or employee comfort, thanks to the installation of a unique heat recovery system and ongoing improvements to the building automation control system.

Development prospects for Cincinnati’s eclectic Northside neighborhood have been given a big boost by the opening of the former American Can factory as a new mixed-use complex. What has resulted? 

The expanded line of AquaSnap® 30RAP air-cooled scroll chillers is now offered up to 150 tons. AquaSnap 30RAP chillers are available with several factory- and field-installed options and accessories, including a hydronic system option that maximizes pump efficiency and makes installation even easier.

Offered as a standard option for the company’s cataloged commercial air-handling units is a photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) air cleaning system. The Trane Catalytic Air Cleaning System (TCACS) is now a standard option with the Performance Climate Changer™ air handler.

The Envision2 Compact Series commercial geothermal heat pump offers efficiencies and features in a cabinet that is among the industry’s smallest, making the unit ideal for boiler/tower applications and the replacement of aging water source heat pumps, the company says.

Ranging from 18- to 140-ton units, the Protocol (NP) Series indoor swimming pool dehumidifiers provide energy-efficient natatorium space heating/cooling and optimum humidity control, while also offering free pool water heating and reheat through heat recovery.

While seven of 10 American homes utilize forced air to heat and cool their homes, a rising portion of the industry believes radiant and hydronic heating and cooling provides a better path to prosperity. These self-proclaimed “wet heads” met in Providence, R.I., Sept. 11-12 for the inaugural Hydronics Roundtable.

Sizes 160 (13.3 tons), 192 (16 tons), 240 (20 tons) and 300 (25 tons) have been added to the Tranquility Compact Belt Drive (TC) Series. These sizes are only available in a vertical cabinet. Vertical unit configurations can be ordered with front or back return air and top, front, or back supply air discharge.