Outdated heating and ventilation systems can greatly affect the comfort of a building’s occupants. When it comes to student comfort, St. Paul’s School Ward Center contracted with Mechanical Engineering & Construction Corporation (MEC2) of Catonsville, Maryland, to do a systemic renovation of its old HVAC system. The 35,000 square foot facility consists of educational and performance spaces, as well as a food service building.
MEC2 performed the general construction and electrical construction work, upgrading the facility’s existing boilers with two high efficient, 1.5 million BTU boilers. They also installed new stainless steel flues, pumping systems, chemical treatment systems and new piping distribution systems to the new air handlers. The project included replacing room HVAC units with new air handlers designed to maintain appropriate temperature control and also dehumidification control to maintain moisture levels in the spaces.
The new HVAC system provides year-round temperature and ventilation that meets or exceeds all applicable code and industry standards. The system is equipped with a free cooling economizer for ventilation air, when no mechanical cooling is required. The overall HVAC system serving the building is monitored and controlled by a direct digital computer based control system which coordinates the function of all mechanical components to assure economical and reliable operation. The system may be monitored within the building and remotely on campus for equipment alarms or operating criteria outside of pre-set levels.
The window for renovation was in the school’s off-time. Even though St. Paul’s gave MEC2 two summers to complete both the main teaching area and food serving building, MEC2 completed the HVAC renovations to both facilities in one summer.