North Shore Hospital Maintenance Director Rory Smith told the hospital board on May 24 that the building’s oldest heating unit needed to be replaced.
Smith said that Stephen J. Gentilli of Dunham, a mechanical and electrical consulting engineering company based in the Twin Cities, had completed a mechanical and electrical systems assessment of the hospital and care center and advised replacing the system’s 1968 100 HP (horse power) boiler.
“The 1968 boiler has exceeded the typical equipment life expectancy as defined by ASHRAE and should be considered for replacement. It is recommended to replace the existing steam boiler and converter system with high efficiency hot water boilers to reduce operating expenses, maintenance costs and improve system performance,” said Gentilli in his report.
He also suggested replacing the steam heating devices in the 300 wing of the care center with hot water devices for improved performance and control.
The hospital currently has three boilers. The other two boilers were installed in 1994 (140 HP) and in 1998 (45 HP).
Although it is considered something of a dinosaur, the 100 HP boiler is still capable of meeting the heating requirements of the hospital. However, it is inefficient and needs constant maintenance, said Smith.
Smith was asked about the proposal by the Cook County Local Energy Project (CCLEP) biomass committee to develop a biomass heating plant that would supply public buildings like the courthouse, school and hospital with heat. Smith said that he had not been contacted, but said he would like to learn more about the proposal.
Because the biomass committee is still in the early stages of gathering information and conducting studies, the board advised Smith to go ahead with plans to find a replacement boiler for the 100 HP steam boiler.
The hospital’s four rooftop air handling units installed in 1994 were found to provide adequate heating and cooling, and the three rooftop air handling units installed in 2003 to serve the kitchen, laundry and administrative areas were also found to be in good working order. However, two air-handling units installed in 1998 to serve the care center do not have the required filters. Smith said those would be installed in short order.
Most of the other mechanical systems were found to be in good working order. The humidification, fire protection, lighting system, fire alarms, nurse call system, telephone, paging, clock, television, medical gas system, temperature controls, and the plumbing systems were up to par. The electrical equipment located in the boiler room is original to 1958 construction and should, said Gentilli in his report, “be evaluated to determine if it should be replaced within the next five years.”
Electrical panel boards also needed to be labeled so that they could be easier to read. This work has already been completed, said Smith.
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