Keeping Cool Under Pressure

BY INSTALLING temporary chillers during the refurbishment of a critical cooling system, ICS Cool Energy ensured uninterrupted cooling for the Princess Royal University Hospital’s operating theatre and essential medical equipment. 

The Challenge

The Orpington hospital was dealing with outdated cooling infrastructure and needed a reliable and efficient replacement system to maintain precise temperatures for essential medical equipment, sensitive medications, and hospital environments. The chiller plant’s location on the hospital roof posed logistical challenges for dismantling the old equipment and transporting and installing of the new ones. Additionally, providing a temporary cooling capacity of 1.8 MW was crucial to ensure seamless hospital operations during the refurbishment. 

The Solution 

Given the logistical challenges posed by the rooftop location and due to the restrictions imposed  on crane usage, the consultants specification deemed it necessary to flat-pack all the chillers for removal and installation. Vinci engineered and constructed an extensive scaffold from the ground-level compound to the roof, incorporating an integral hoist to facilitate the positioning of the equipment on site.

To maintain uninterrupted operation of the hospital’s critical systems and operating theatres throughout the project, ICS Cool Energy leveraged its decades long expertise in temporary cooling solutions. With a selection of 500kW high-performance chillers readily available for hire and rapid deployment, the team quickly delivered and installed the three chillers as temporary support. 

The complexity of the temporary install was further amplified by the need for "hot tapping" - attaching to a pipeline without depressurising or disrupting normal operations - which was crucial to putting the hire chillers in place and provide immediate and reliable cooling during the transition.

For the final new cooling system, the team selected three 600kW HVAC chillers featuring R513A low GWP refrigerant, meeting the hospital’s demand for capacity, performance, and efficiency, as well as future proofing the equipment for the duration of its lifetime

The meticulous flat-packing process involved disassembling the chillers into their components parts, starting with the removal of fans and panelling, and safely extracting refrigerant from the system. Each piece was carefully labelled to ensure accurate reassembly. After reassembly, the system was recharged with refrigerant, tested and commissioned following the completion of pipefitting, fluid filling, electrical supplies, and ducting. 

The old chillers were flat packed and taken down the same way.

The Result

This comprehensive approach to the project ensured that hospital operations continued uninterrupted, demonstrating ICS Cool Energy's commitment to delivering a complete and reliable cooling solution in even the most challenging scenarios and tight turnaround requirements.

"This project was particularly challenging, with numerous logistical hurdles that the team navigated exceptionally well. Notably, this project involved both install and hire teams, and despite tight deadlines and unforeseen obstacles, we delivered the systems successfully," said Joe Murray, project manager at ICS Cool Energy.

For more information: 

www.icscoolenergy.com

Tel: 0800 840 4210