Challenge – Nearby Laundry Exhaust and Cottonwood Reduce Chiller Efficiency
A Texas business complex made up of 2-6 story multi-tenant office buildings utilize Trane chillers as part of their HVAC system. The chiller units are located at the back of the buildings, with a heavily wooded creek area running behind them. The landscape contains many trees, especially cottonwoods. Cottonwood seeds and leaves were constantly getting pulled into the chiller air intakes. Maintenance was having trouble keeping the chiller coils clean, which in turn hurt the efficiency of the units without constant cleaning. To add to the problem, one set of chillers is located about 40 feet from a nearby hotel’s laundry exhaust, which of course meant that lint was always being pulled into the coils as well.
Solution – Air Intake Filter Screens with Custom Cut-Outs
PreVent filter screens easily stopped the build-up of debris on the chiller air intakes. The filters are custom sized, with cut-out areas for piping and electrical connections, and easily mounted over large areas of the chiller system. Cleaning maintenance was reduced significantly, and can be quickly done with a broom, brush or shop vacuum. Building officials are happy with the tailored and secure screen installations, that will keep the units running on a steadier efficiency curve and significantly reduce time spent cleaning the units.
