When the facilities management staff of Mount Vernon Hospital completed an assessment of its central chilled water plant, it became evident that while the original chillers had served the hospital well since its opening in 1975, they were ready for replacement. The hospital used this opportunity to install three state-of-the-art chiller systems; the largest of their type.
The energy required to cool a hospital in the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. can represent 20% or more of the annual energy consumed, so efficiency upgrades in the cooling system can have a significant impact on total energy use. With the many advances that have occurred in chiller technology since the original units were installed, replacing the chillers with new equipment was seen as an ideal approach for improving operating efficiency.