Project profile: Tampa Bay Hospital

By The Coffee Shops™. 

This project shows how air handler restoration can reduce disruption while helping preserve capital budgets. 

For many facilities, aging heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment can create a difficult choice: Invest in a full replacement that requires partial or complete building shut down or find a way to extend equipment life without disrupting occupants. Keep reading to learn about how a large suburban hospital in Tampa Bay worked with WTI’s Pure Air Control Services to do the latter.  

The 479-bed hospital was working with SiteLogIQ on energy and performance surveys aimed at improving facility operations. During that process, two air handler units (AHUs) serving Labor and Delivery rooms in The Women’s Center, The Baby Suites were identified as candidates for replacement because of degraded conditions and performance. 

Replacing the units, however, presented challenges. Their location inside the penthouse would have added cost, time and facility disruption. Instead, the project team determined that the units could be restored through WTI | Pure Air Control Services’ HVAC New Life program. 

The restoration was completed through phased services performed over consecutive nights, allowing work to progress without loss of supply air during normal operating hours. The process began with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuuming inside the units. Airflow resistance readings were then taken across the cooling coils through a Coil Cleanliness Verification (CCV) test. 

After masking off the unit interiors, crews used WTI Pure Air’s proprietary PURE-Steam process to sanitize the units and deep clean the cooling coils. The process used bio-enzyme treatments and high-temperature, low-pressure steam to address debris lodged in the coils. Follow-up CCV readings were taken after cleaning to monitor improvements. 

The project also included refinishing metal components, including condensate pans and exteriors, with high-performance, multi-part polyurethane coatings designed for HVAC equipment. The coatings are antimicrobial, corrosion resistant and low odor. Finally, the AHUs were retrofitted with new outside air dampers and upgraded controls. 

According to the project profile, replacing the two units would have cost $350,000 or more. Restoration through HVAC New Life cost $84,000, saving $266,000 in capital and creating a 76% capital avoidance. 

Original photos source: Tremco WTI | Pure Air Control Services