Case Studies

Air Conditioning System R22 Replacement

Air Conditioning System R22 Replacement

Customer: Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS
Service: HVAC replacement
Project value: £200k

The Client

Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust is the principal healthcare provider to 258,000 people across Southport, Formby and West Lancashire. The Trust comprises two hospitals: Southport & Formby District General Hospital and Ormskirk & District General Hospital.

The Challenge

With legislation coming in to force to limit the manufacture and use of R22 as a refrigerant within the air conditioning systems, repair of the existing HVAC system was becoming uneconomic and a refrigerant leak would cause environmental harm. Efficiencies available from new HVAC systems offered fast financial payback and removed the potential issues of an R22 based system going forwards.

A breakdown in the system was a risk the trust could not take, so proactive action was taken to replace the systems throughout the estate.

The project involved the replacement of air conditioning plant at both the Ormskirk District General Hospital site and Southport and Formby Hospital site with newer, more efficient and environmentally friendly systems.

Engineering Solutions

A total of 27 systems were replaced at the Ormskirk site with 42 systems being replaced at the Southport site. There were also a number of Fridge/Freezer systems that were replaced on both sites, including all associated pipework and controls. On both sites, there are air handling units that had DX cooling coils and associated condensing units that were also replaced with modifications carried out to the existing Building Management System (BMS) to ensure its compatibility with the newly installed equipment.

The scope of the project involved de-gassing and removal of existing R22 based air conditioning systems, the replacement equipment for the walk-in fridges and freezers and the replacement of AHU DX cooling coils and associated condensers. Equipment supplied to the Southport site that would be exposed to the corrosive elements of the sea air were coated in “Bronze Glow” post-manufacture to protect against corrosion.

We have seen a number of other projects locally where this level of protection has not been added and lead to a shortened life for the plant and equipment.

All of the works were carried out across two live hospital sites. Careful and considerate planning had to be undertaken in liaison with the hospital staff to ensure that the works could be carried out in an efficient manner, whilst causing minimal disruption to the operation of sites.

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