Fulton Products Contribute to High HVAC Efficiencies in Multiple Design Scenarios
BSA LifeStructures is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary design rm that in 2017 was named one of Engineering News-Record’s top midwest design firms, and one of Modern Healthcare Magazine’s top 15 architectural firms.
Since 1975, they have designed facilities for some of the nation’s premier healthcare, higher education, and research institutions using progressive and sustainable designs that include a number of LEED-certified buildings – facilities they call LifeStructures.
While always striving to provide designs that are in the best interest of their clients (no single-source procurement allowed), BSA has, nonetheless, found a few companies whose products they have steadily recommended precisely because their products have continued to be in the best interest of their clients.
One such company is Fulton Heating Solutions, Inc., headquartered in Syracuse, NY, that supplies commercial boiler and other heat transfer equipment backed by over 70 years of research, innovation, and experience.
Why Fulton
When it comes to hospitals, BSA has steadily recommended Fulton’s Vantage boiler because of its dual-fuel capability, a life safety requirement shared by hospitals and other mission-critical applications in the event their natural gas supply is disrupted.
BSA also recommends Fulton’s vertical tubeless steam boilers when they’ve had humidification and sterilization requirements, and for non-dual fuel applications. This includes the use of Fulton’s VMPs, ICSs, and ICXs in hospitals, labs, and libraries of higher-ed buildings.
Kevin McNutt, Senior Consulting Engineer for BSA LifeStructures, says, “We lean towards Fulton’s vertical tubeless systems where we don’t have plant steam available.”
“Normally, we try to nd products that can compete but, a lot of times, based on the quality and the sizing, Fulton wins out. We prefer Fulton when we have the budget for it, as their products have been very efficient and reliable for us over the years.”
We prefer Fulton . . . as their products have been very efficient and reliable for us over the years.
Kevin McNutt Senior Consulting Engineer, BSA LifeStructuresFulton Vantages – Efficiency and Longevity
BSA highly recommends Vantage boilers not only because of their dual-fuel capability but because of their ultra-high condensing efficiency and sustainability.
Here, BSA looks at the long-term cost of a system, not just the initial or operating costs.
They pride themselves on being good stewards of their client’s money by taking time to educate them about the long-term lifecycle cost of the buildings they design.
And generally, this means getting their clients to spend a little bit more money upfront so that they can realize long-term operational savings.
That, in turn, means concentrating on the condensing aspect of boilers for the energy savings they afford, which can also be used to achieve LEED certi cation.
In fact, BSA has designed around condensing boilers for years. It’s their go-to requirement considering the types of buildings they design.
These are buildings that re-heat air continuously and that have high air-exchange and air- ow requirements such as healthcare and lab facilities.
For these buildings, energy savings is synonymous with condensing boilers, and many times this has been a Vantage condensing boiler.
“You have to realize that you may pay a little bit more for a condensing boiler, but that it has a payback to it,” says Kevin.
“We use Vantage condensing boilers to generate LEED points, but they are also a boiler that is going to operate for 25 or 30 years before you replace them, so you know that you are going to make that cost back in energy savings, even if it is a non-LEED building.”
Examples of Fulton Vantage condensing boilers that have saved BSA’s clients money (in combination with other energy conservation measures) include Vantage boilers installed at:
- Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana. Here, BSA replaced a steam plant with a new Fulton Vantage condensing boiler plant that back-fed several of the hospital’s facilities whose heating plant design setpoint temperatures ranged from 150° F to 180° F. “We went from 75-80% thermal efficiency to all the way up to 89% worst case and 94% for much of the year,” says Kevin.
- Memorial Medical Center in Spring eld, Illinois. Here, BSA replaced several steam boilers with ve Vantage 4.0 MM BTU/hr boilers to feed new building additions as well as existing areas of the hospital. “We added over 150,000 square feet, and the energy/utility bills went down for the campus,” says Kevin.
View of Memorial Medical Center and its boiler room containing five Vantage (VTG-4000DF) condensing hydronic boilers installed in 2012 as part of a central plant upgrade
Variable Primary Flow is Also Key
For hydronic systems, BSA generally recommends variable- primary because of the savings in fuel and pumping-energy costs it affords over a primary-secondary type system.
Variable-primary piping also reduces design complexity and installation costs, minimizes boiler plant service footprint, and eliminates blended return water temperatures, which enables the greatest possible condensing potential. All of these benefits are why Fulton’s hydronic boilers are specifically designed for it.
Said Kevin, “Variable primary designs will cost less money to operate over a primary-secondary. Of course, the minimum flows on the boiler should be considered as well. If Fulton’s are below the industry standard, as I’m sure they are, then that is certainly another opportunity to recognize cost savings.”
Fulton Heating Solutions Inc.
Fulton Heating Solutions is an American company headquartered in Syracuse, NY. Backed by over 70 years of research, innovation, and experience, Fulton designs and manufactures heat transfer equipment for a wide range of commercial and industrial applications.