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Steam Heat Exchanger Optimization

Steam Heat Exchanger Optimization

by | Apr 30, 2019 | Steam

Troubleshooting Heat Exchanger Performance

The primary key to avoiding premature failures of your steam-fed heat exchangers is to keep the heat exchangers completely purged of condensate at all times.  If you are getting poor performance out of your heat exchanger, here are some troubleshooting ideas to pinpoint problematic areas of performance:

  • Clogged strainer
  • No drip trap
  • No separator, wet steam
  • No strainer
  • Pipe reducers
  • No vacuum breaker
  • No air vent
  • Damaged or dirty fins
  • CFM too high
  • Lifting after trap
  • Wrong coil selection
  • Coil not pitched
  • Wrong coil material
  • Wrong or failed trap (size/capacity/type)
  • Undersized condensate return pipe
  • No freeze protection valve
  • Wrong or failed control valve
  • Blockage in steam pipe
  • Carbonic acid corrosion

Our in-depth experience with replacing heat exchangers has proven that about 90% of the time it comes down to two most important issues to troubleshoot.

Lifting after the trap

steam pressure motive condensate electric pumpsA key thing to understand is that a trap is not a pump.  If you take a look at the steam loop, and you are lifting condensate, in some modes of operations your heat exchanger will be in a ‘stall’ condition.  This means when the steam pressure is modulated back due to low load requirements, there is not enough differential pressure to purge the heat exchanger of the condensate.  Your heat exchanger is flooded and now the carbonic acid corrosion begins.

There are a few options that could be selected based on the application.  If you have the room available, we can size and select an electric condensate pump package including isolation valves.  This type of condensate pump would be able to get your condensate through the piping system back to your boiler instead of leaving it ‘stalled’ in your system.

Air Vent and/or Vaccum Breaker

The other major issue with steam heat exchanger equipment is not having an air vent and vacuum breaker.  The inclusion of an air vent and vacuum breaker essentially allows the equipment to ‘breathe’.  When equipment ‘breathes’, steam is able to properly enter and exit the heat exchanger.  An air vent allows the air in the system to escape when filling the exchanger with steam.  The vacuum breaker allows air in when the steam turns to condensate.  These two additions to your steam system will prolong the life of your equipment because it will not allow the condensate to sit, again, creating carbonic acid corrosion.

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Maximizing HVAC Coil Efficiency with UV-C Light

Maximizing HVAC Coil Efficiency with UV-C Light

by | Oct 30, 2018 | UV

Maximizing Coil Efficiency with Ultra Violet Light

Have you ever thought any of these: “Coil cleaning and maintenance is such a hassle!…,” “My heat transfer efficiency is dropping, how can I get it back to where it used to be?,” or “We’ve got a nasty smell, what can we do to eliminate it?”?

Fortunately, Cooney Coil & Energy has a solution for you!  The use of ultraviolet light has a multitude of benefits including:

  • Improved indoor air quality
  • Increased overall health and productivity
  • Increased system efficiency
  • Reduced energy and maintenance costs
  • Elimination of coil cleanings
  • Longer system life by keeping HVAC systems microbial-free
  • Less likelihood for drain lines to clog (drain pan water is completely disinfected)

So What is Ultraviolet Light and How Does It Work?

What is Ultraviolet Light?  Ultraviolet light is invisible to the human eye. It is part of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies beyond the purple range of the visible spectrum.  The ultraviolet (or UV) spectrum has wavelengths between 100 and 400 nanometers (nm).

The UV spectrum is further divided into wavelength ranges named UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C.  By utilizing the UV-C range of UV light, germicidal benefits, as well as others, can be achieved.

How UV Light Works:

Ultraviolet technology is a non-chemical approach to disinfection.  In this method of disinfection, nothing is added which makes this process simple, inexpensive, and requires very low maintenance.  UV is an effective method of killing a broad range of microbes.  As organic contaminants come into view of the UV light source, the UV light waves penetrate the membrane and nucleus of microorganisms, breaking the molecular bonds in the organisms’ DNA.  This destruction of the DNA kills the microbe or inhibits its ability to reproduce, allowing you and your HVAC system to reap the benefits listed above!

Skeptical?

Read this case study done at Florida Hospital:

A UVC light was installed in AHU #107, a 27-year-old, 6,000 cfm unit located at the main Orlando campus.  AHU #107 was selected because the coil and drain pan areas had a very visible buildup of mold, and the coil was clogged to approximately 50%.

Within weeks after the UVC installation, static pressure over the coil decreased from 1.8 in.wg to just 0.7 in. wg.  Air velocity over the coil more than doubled, from 230 fpm to 520 fpm.  Both the coil and drain pan areas looked absolutely clean, with no more visible evidence of mold or organic buildup.  The air exiting wetbulb temperature from the AHU also decreased significantly, from 57° F (before UVC) to 53° (with UVC).

Increase in capacity calculated to be 95,245 Btuh or approximately 7.9 tons of air conditioning. Using 1 kW/ton and multiply by 24 (hours/day) by 365 (days/year) by $0.07 (electric rate), a total of $4,867 in savings is determined for this one unit.  The total installed cost of the UVC lights was less than $2,000.  Given the number of AHUs in the hospital, they estimated yearly energy savings well into the six figures. This estimate does not include additional savings for reduced maintenance.

The hospital is conservatively saving 15% in HVAC system energy costs, and probably much more. These results are consistent with other studies documenting that just a one-micron buildup of dirt or debris on coil surfaces can lead to a 15% loss in operating efficiency.

(data taken from a study written by Firouz Keikavousi, published in Engineered Systems Magazine)

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Why A UV Disinfection System is Essential for Medical Facilities

Why A UV Disinfection System is Essential for Medical Facilities

by | Jun 7, 2018 | UV

How The Right UV Disinfection System Can Save Lives At Your Medical Center

If you help operate a medical facility such as a dialysis center, health clinic, hospital, or pharmacy, then you know how much people depend on you for their health. Every day, people expect you to provide health services, and you do. But what if you were endangering them and didn’t know it? With a UV disinfection system, you don’t have to worry about this. One of the most overlooked parts of keeping a building clean is the air handling system. When your air is clean, your building will be clean; but if your air is dirty, the situation can quickly become hazardous. Airborne disease, mold spores, and other pathogens can seriously endanger the health of your patients. If your air isn’t clean, it can cause serious problems for the people who are counting on you for their health. So why skimp on something so important? The health of your patients is a top priority, so make sure you are doing your part to keep the air clean and them safe. A UV disinfection system is an effective and simple way to do this.

UV light sterilization of face mask to disinfect and reuse. COVID-19 prevention concept.

How a UV Disinfection System Saves Lives

When we say that the proper use of a UV disinfection system can save lives, it may seem like an exaggeration. It’s not. By controlling the air inside your building and keeping it free of pollutants, you are dramatically lowering the risk of pathogens in the air harming your patients. Here’s how it works.

  • A UV disinfection system is fitted onto your air handling system. This unit can be installed in several places on the air handling system but is most commonly fitted onto the air conditioning coil itself. Your UV system professional will assess your system and help you decide which model is right for your needs.
  • The system will treat the coils for microbial growth. The purpose of the UV disinfection system design is to prevent harmful microbes from growing and propagating in your system. Using the UV disinfection light is a common way to do this across industries, and is often one of the most common methods.
  • The UV lamp emits light at a wavelength of 200 to 400 nanometers (the germicidal range). The UV light interacts with the DNA and RNA molecules in the microbes and changes their structure. This damages them and makes them incapable of reproducing. As a result, the microbes are still alive in a technical sense, but they are not able to reproduce and thereby cannot spread or cause disease.
  • The air handling system remains sterile and safe. With a UV light disinfection system in place, the air passing through your system will not become contaminated. You can keep circulating this clean air to keep your patients and personnel safe from airborne pathogens.

If you’re running a medical facility and are concerned about the quality of your air, you’re not alone.

For more information about UV disinfection systems and what they can do for your air, get in touch with us. We’d love to help you figure out if UV is the right choice for you.

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The Heat Exchanger Perfect-Fit Guarantee

The Heat Exchanger Perfect-Fit Guarantee

by | May 11, 2018 | Heat Exchangers

A heat exchanger is one of the most important parts of your hydronic system. They’re the device that transfers heat between two fluids, allowing heat to be taken out or put into your system. That means the heat exchanger in your HVAC is responsible for the temperature of your water, and it also means that if yours is broken, your fluid temperature is probably out of control.

So what if one does break, or needs to be replaced for some other reason? Luckily, Cooney Coil & Energy can find a replacement for you, and we can guarantee, based on our exact measurements, that it will fit. Why is that so important? Well, it’s tougher than it seems, because not every heat exchanger is created equal. When we say that we guarantee a perfect fit, here’s what we really mean.

How Can We Guarantee a Perfect Heat Exchanger?

For some companies, “guarantee” can be a scary word. It’s tough to claim responsibility for something entirely, especially when you’re claiming that one of the most finicky pieces of equipment in common use will work correctly. But Cooney Coil & Energy believes in the knowledge, skill, and competency of its technicians, and we know that we can make this guarantee with confidence.

We Know This Because…

Our technicians are specially trained to be experts in finding you replacement components for your heat exchangers. When we send someone to your site to take a look at your unit, they are bringing years of experience and expertise. After taking a few careful measurements, they’ll ask you a few questions about what you need. After all, there are a lot of different kinds of ways to exchange heat, and not all of them will work perfectly for what you need.

When they’ve gathered enough information, Cooney Coil & Energy will secure the exact product or part with the exact specifications that you need. Based on the measurements and the information our team gathers, we will be able to build a drop-in replacement. If we still feel like we need to make adjustments to get it down to the last few millimeters of a perfect fit, our team can return to the site with state-of-the-art measuring tools.

This process allows us to be very confident in our guarantee that a new heat exchanger will fit and work perfectly when we install it. We don’t worry about the guarantee, and you shouldn’t have to worry either. If you have any questions about our guarantee policy, heat exchangers, or anything else, don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can give us a call at (610)783-1136, or receive a quote online. We look forward to hearing from you.

3 Advantages of Hiring Coil Replacement Experts

3 Advantages of Hiring Coil Replacement Experts

by | Jul 26, 2017 | Coils

This Is Why You Should Contact a Professional for a Coil Replacement

Commercial HVAC systems are more complicated than many realize. There is a reason commercial and industrial HVAC systems are often located in dedicated rooms or outdoor enclosures—they’re quite sizeable machines that occasionally require specialized maintenance.

The larger and more complicated your system is, the harder it can be to find a coil replacement. Commercial and industrial systems are large and often custom-designed specifically for the space they occupy. This customization allows a commercial or industrial air handling system to do exactly what you need for your space, but it also makes repair and replacement more difficult. Luckily, Cooney Coil & Energy is here to help you find the coil replacement you need.

The Professional Coil Replacement Benefits You Don’t Want to Miss

coil replacementThe coil replacement experts at Cooney Coil & Energy understand commercial, customized HVAC systems, and we’re the best in the business. You can trust us to find precisely what you need, when you need it. Here are three advantages you gain by working with us to find your HVAC replacement part.

  • Excellent service. The foundation of what we do here is good service. We believe that our purpose is to help you find the correct HVAC replacement parts and to get your HVAC system operational as quickly and efficiently as we can. That means training employees to have excellent qualifications and certifications, and it means guaranteeing the perfect fit.
  • Quality parts. In our decades of experience in the industry, we’ve learned to distinguish good parts from bad. That’s why we partner with trustworthy, reputable manufacturers. We offer only certain brands of heat exchangers, tube bundles, and coil replacements in our product line. Because we know quality when we see it, our expertise can provide you with a longer-lasting replacement coil.
  • Professional relationships. Another advantage of choosing professional coil replacement is the benefit of networking. At Cooney Coil & Energy, we have personal relationships with HVAC replacement parts manufacturers. That means we can easily navigate your HVAC needs, order custom parts, expedite orders, and more. After years in this industry, our professional network of manufacturers can save you time and money on repairs.

These are just a few of the reasons that you can trust Cooney Coil & Energy to find the right coil replacement for you, every time. If you’d like to learn more about how we operate or what we can do for you, please get in touch with us at 610-783-1136. We look forward to hearing from you!