This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
ES Magazine logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
ES Magazine logo
  • Home
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Digital Edition
    • Ad Index
  • Products
  • News
  • Sectors
    • Colleges/ Universities
    • Commercial
    • Government/ Institutional
    • Health Care
    • Hospitality
    • K-12
    • Mission Critical
  • Topics
    • Building Automation
    • Cooling & Chillers
    • Design/ Construction Process
    • Heating & Boilers
    • IAQ
    • Life Safety
    • Motors & Drives
    • Pumps & Flow Controls
    • Retrofits
    • Ventilation
  • Columns
    • Back2Basics
    • Building Automation Column
    • Case In Point
    • Commissioning
    • Editor's Note
    • Facility Files
    • IAQ: A Physician's View
    • Tomorrow's Environment
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Webinars
    • Video Spotlights
    • Interactive Spotlights
    • Sneak Peek Spotlight
    • White Paper eBlast
    • Case Study eBlasts
  • Resources
    • eNewsletters
    • Continuing Education
    • White Papers
    • Industry Events
    • ES Store
    • Classifieds
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • Market Research
  • Today's Boiler
    • Today’s Boiler Digital Edition
  • Directory
    • SourceBook
    • Take a Tour
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
Home » Florida prison escapes higher costs with desuperheaters
Cooling & ChillersGovernment/Institutional HVACHVAC Retrofits
Case In Point

Florida prison escapes higher costs with desuperheaters

Case In Point
February 1, 2014
KEYWORDS heat exchangers
Reprints
No Comments

Florida, like most southern states, has an abundance of sunshine throughout the year. Solar panels are quite popular as an energy saving strategy, generating heat for hot water for domestic or commercial use.

And like sunshine, heat levels are also high, frequently requiring air conditioning around the clock. Heat generated from the air conditioning cycle has traditionally been rejected via an outside condenser, but with today’s focus on energy conservation, this air conditioning byproduct is used to heat domestic hot water and other liquids as well.

Florida’s Marion County received a $2.45 million Federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant as part of the federal stimulus program. The funds are available for a variety of energy savings programs, one of those being the installation of heat exchangers on the county prison water chiller.

For their first project, two Doucette Industries’ AC Series 125-ton desuperheaters were specified for one of two 250-ton McQuay air cooled R-134a chillers, one per circuit. Located in York, PA, Doucette Industries manufactures a variety of heat exchangers and other refrigeration equipment accessories. As with all purchases made under the stimulus grant, the equipment had to be certified U.S. manufactured. Doucette is also an ISO 9001-2008 certified company

Jim Scates, a Doucette representative from Clearwater, FL, said the Marion County prison project joins Disney World, Wal-Mart, and restaurants like Pizza Hut in adding reclamation equipment to their energy-savings plan.

“Our desuperheaters are simple, cost-effective devices that install quickly on to all major manufacturers’ cooling equipment,” said Scates. “Rather than routing the hot refrigerant gas to an external air- or water-cooled condenser, it goes through the desuperheater where roughly 20% of the heat is transferred to water circulating through the unit. It can heat water to 140°F or more by harnessing energy expelled from the air conditioning unit. The heated water is pumped and stored into one of three 1,000-gallon insulated storage tanks.” 

Scates noted that the two desuperheaters raised the water temperature in one 1,000-gal tank to 140°F during the first night of operation. He said the units used on the chiller are no larger than a shopping cart and they operate very efficiently. Their compact design easily fits in most installations, and they are ready to install, saving on contracting costs.

As an example, a restaurant with a 10-ton air conditioning unit can heat about 70 gal of water per hour by 50 degrees. And the hot water is produced all the time — day or night — when the air conditioning is running, unlike solar heating.

Scates said there’s an additional cost benefit when adding a desuperheater.

“It reduces AC operating costs 5% to 10% and extends the life of the cooling equipment. Desuperheating removes part of the condenser load resulting in lower refrigerant temperature and pressure, reducing energy input to the compressor,” he said.

Andy Rance, facilities management director for Marion County facilities, commented that the county will save approximately $2,000 to $3,000 per month on energy used to heat their hot water alone at the prison facility — and that’s only from one chiller.

He also said the natural gas-fired boilers seldom come on now and it’s like free hot water. The jail uses the hot water in the facility’s kitchen and laundry areas.

 The county has since added two additional desuperheater units to the second prison chiller. Their plans also call for upgrading the air conditioning units in most of the county’s 22 fire stations with heat recovery units as well as other county buildings. Desuperheating, as well as solar panel heating, has helped Marion County keep their operating budget in line. 

es-subscribe

Related Articles

Custodial and Maintenance Costs Increase at Higher Education Facilities

Prison Design Locks Up Reliable Steam Supply With Watertube Boilers

Florida school cuts outside air cooling costs 70%

Florida schools raise efficiency grades with ice bank technology

Related Products

Engineered Systems April 2019 Issue

Energy-Efficient Building Systems

Building Information Modeling: A Strategic Implementation Guide

2020 National Electrical Estimator

Related Directories

Carmel Software Corp.

Home Ventilating Institute (HVI)

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • eNewsletters
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

Dynamic Data Center Workloads Require a Dynamic Cooling Solution

Dynamic Data Center Workloads Require a Dynamic Cooling Solution

Protecting Pharmacists

Protecting Pharmacists: New USP 800 Standards Focus on Safety in Handling Hazardous Drugs

The Dangers of Neglecting Regular Boiler Maintenance

The Dangers of Neglecting Regular Boiler Maintenance

A2L Nov 2019 Figure 1

A2L Refrigerants: Safely Addressing Flammability Concerns

Jeff Edwards

Jeffrey W. Edwards Presented with ASPE Award of Merit

ES-20toWatch-winners250


Todays boiler

Events

December 30, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

Favorite Engineered Systems columns

Which Engineered Systems column is your favorite:
View Results Poll Archive

Products

The Green Energy Management Book

The Green Energy Management Book

Learn from our experts how to evaluate job opportunities, market your services, sell a Walk-through Survey, target areas for an Energy Audit, calculate energy savings, do retrofit work, and win continuing contracts for retrofit work.

See More Products

ES Kohler webinar


ES_2018Top10States_360

Engineered Systems Magazine

Engineered Systems December 2019

2019 December

Check out the December 2019 edition of Engineered Systems: Discussion of the "next generation" of building controls, the health impact of indoor particulate matter, evidence-based decision-making in the built environment and much more!
View More Create Account
  • Resources
    • ES Glossary
    • HVAC glossary
    • New Products
    • Mechanical Group
    • Partners
    • List Rental
    • Privacy Policy
    • Survey And Sample
  • Want More
    • Connect
  • Contact

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing