Problem
A large county school system had one of their largest high schools that needed major HVAC upgrades to a 35-year-old system. These upgrades had to be completed in a 7-week period during the summer break. The professionals at Mallory & Evans were enlisted to help the school create a project plan to make all the necessary upgrades including collaborations with the school district’s BAS provider integration and programming of the new equipment.
Solution
Mallory & Evans used our expertise in HVAC systems and building operations to recommend and provide strategic design assistance to facilitate the condensed project schedule and improve building operational and maintenance requirements moving forward. These recommendations included the addition and relocation of some control valves to improve energy consumption during low load conditions. We also recommended additional valving and improved fan coil unit placement for improved maintenance access.
The Situation
This project presented multiple logistical challenges. The first challenge was how to remove and replace a significant amount of steel and copper piping (all above ceiling), re-insulate the pipe, and have it operational in 7 weeks. Adding to the challenge was the requirement to remove and replace all of the four pipe fan coil units serving the school and integrate the new units into the existing building automation system.
The Work
Our project scope initially included the removal and replacement of 2.5 miles of chilled water and hot water heating piping. Additionally, the scope included the removal and replacement of 117 – four pipe fan coil units. All of this work was located above existing lay-in ceilings that had to be removed and replaced. This scope of work, including integration of all the new fan coil units into the existing building automation system was completed on time and under budget.
The Results
This Mallory and Evans completed this project under budget in only 7 weeks. By the end of the project, our team had removed and replaced 5 miles of piping throughout the school through additional scope changes. Our solution will serve this high school for decades, and they were overjoyed to see it completed early and under budget.
