Back in 1997, when Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, broke ground on a new building, the plan was to build it in two phases, a concept that meant rethinking the installation of two very large steam boilers.

“Space was at a premium since the sterilization facility adjacent to the boiler plant required more space,” said Steven Slusarz, chief plant operator, Greenwich Hospital. “That meant the two large boilers that were part of the original plans no longer worked since they required a great deal of space for pulling tubes and general maintenance.”

After much research, the hospital purchased seven Miura EX-200 SGO Gas/Oil Series High Pressure Steam Boilers. Now, more than 20 years later, the hospital has begun to replace its existing Miura boilers with new Miura boilers.

“Back in 1997, Miura was relatively new to the U.S. market,” said Paul O’Donnell, vice president of strategic development, Miura. “After careful research, Greenwich Hospital noted a number of important features and advantages that made Miura its ideal choice, becoming the first U.S. hospital to install innovative Miura boilers.”

There were several reasons why Miura won out as the boiler of choice for Greenwich Hospital. Among them were Miura’s compact size, efficient operation, and lower emissions.

What today is referred to as “on-demand steam” really caught the attention of the Greenwich Hospital staff, since it was a relatively new innovation for the U.S. market.

“What was especially exciting for the facility planners was that within a few minutes you were up to 100 psi,” Slusarz said. “Another major advantage was high and low fires, without a lot of modulation, so there wasn’t as much fine tuning required, and you still had higher efficiency.”

Running a boiler facility at a Northeast hospital has its own set of challenges.

“Efficient operation is critical,” said Slusarz. “The hospital’s steam demand fluctuates throughout the day, so, sometimes, we’re only doing 1,000 pounds an hour, and we can quickly go up to 8,000-9,000 pounds an hour. Plus, with multiple Miura boilers, we are able to have more control on what we are delivering while minimizing waste.”

Slusarz also noted that the hospital continues to be recognized for its green initiatives, as it recently took another step forward, going from regular No. 2 heating oil to the ultra-low sulfur diesel.

“We dialed in the boilers, which brought our emissions even further down,” he said. “We are running a very clean, efficient plant at Greenwich Hospital.”

Today, five of the original seven Miura boilers remain operational as the hospital upgrades to new Miura boilers and takes advantage of the company’s latest innovations.

“We replaced the two EX-200s from our original seven with EX-100s,” noted Slusarz. “The main reason was that on the days when we’re really not utilizing a large amount of steam, it gives the operator greater options. Plus, our boiler room is designed with two rows of boilers — three on one side and four on the other. This gives the operator a chance to shut down one whole side for maintenance and still have redundancy on the line.”

The compact size of the boilers proved to be a major advantage, said Slusarz.

“Because we’re a hospital, you can never have enough elevators, bathrooms, or closets, so Miura’s footprint is extremely beneficial to us,” he said. “When it comes time to replace them, we can get them in and out using simple rigging versus having to take a whole side of a building out to replace a boiler. That’s a big deal.”

Operationally, the hospital’s Siemens BAS system is tied into the boiler, allowing Slusarz and his team to see exactly what’s going on at any given time and make adjustments accordingly.

The interaction with the Miura representatives left quite an impression on Slusarz and his team.

“The customer service that we get out of Miura’s New Jersey office has been outstanding,” added Slusarz. “I have absolutely no complaints.”

Having already replaced two boilers, Greenwich Hospital plans to replace at least one of their original five remaining boilers each year.

“We want to bring everything up to date and try to stay a little bit ahead of the curve,” noted Slusarz.