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

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.

  • 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.

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.