Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Efficient Pumps Boost Campus Comfort

  • 04/01/16
intelligent hydronic circulators

Improved energy efficiency and cost savings were two of the major benefits St. John’s University received by installing Gundfos MAGNA3 smart circulators.

Cold weather can create challenges for institutional facility managers, who often must choose between meeting occupant comfort and ever-shrinking physical plant budgets. A case-in-point is St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN, which met its heating goals and saved energy and money thanks to intelligent hydronic circulators.

The Benedictine school’s Peter Engel Science Center was heated via baseboards powered by two primary circulators and four secondary pumps that serviced the building’s four wings. Built in the 1960s, the building’s circulators were oversized and fixed-speed, so the entire system was operating at 100 percent throughout the heating season.

David Schlumpberger, in charge of campus HVAC, wasn’t aware of Grundfos smart circulator technology, which saves energy by continuously fine-tuning power consumption, discharge head and flow rates to meet the heating system’s dynamic needs. In other words, rather than running flat-out at top horsepower, the more energy-efficient option is to start from zero and ramp up to meet the specific demand.

The four new circulators’ intelligent technology was able to achieve the necessary flow rates by expending far less energy. Estimated annual savings reached $693, and the project enjoyed a three-month ROI.

“The bottom line is that the MAGNA3 is sophisticated and capable of doing everything the old pumps did, only better because it’s smart,” says Schlumpberger. During one particularly cold winter, he notes that the system operated at just 25 percent of the old pumps, while keeping the building warm.

According to one team member on the project, this was a huge improvement over the Science Center’s antiquated pumps. This is the only manufacturer that offers a pump that has an integrated logic algorithm to learn the varying energy-usage patterns of an application.

For the foreseeable future and beyond, this university has become immune to the cold, both temperature- and cost-wise.

www.grundfos.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.

  • Zurn Elkay Releases 2025 Sustainability Report

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently announced the release of its annual sustainability report, according to a news release. The 2025 report discusses the organization’s efforts to maintain good environmental stewardship and the solutions provided in helping customers meet sustainability goals.

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.