Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

HVAC Technology Transforms Space

  • 04/01/17
HVAC

Randolph Community College transformed a neighboring outdated factory into a high-efficiency, LEED Gold facility with help from innovative SEMCO products.

Randolph Community College (RCC) in Asheville, NC, recycled a neighboring industrial factory into a LEED Gold showcase using the HVAC industry’s most innovative equipment.

Transforming the former 46,000-squarefoot, $850,000 Klaussner Furniture Plant’s un-insulated brick shell into a high-efficiency educational facility proved challenging for two Raleigh-based firms, consulting engineering firm Progressive Design Collaborative (PDC) and architecture firm Smith Sinnett Architecture.

With the encouragement of RCC’s Director of Facilities Cindi Goodwin, PDC thought well beyond convention and designed one of the nation’s first combinations of active chilled beams with an offpeak hours ice storage/chilled water loop.

The foundation of the Continuing Education and Industrial Center’s (CEIC) cooling system is 184 IQHC active chilled beams and two Pinnacle dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) — both products manufactured by SEMCO, Columbia, MO. The combination of chilled beams and DOAS provide air movement, noise abatement, energy efficiency and a tight tolerance of indoor air quality in terms of temperature and relative humidity. The environmental conditions provide an unprecedented learning environment of quiet, indoor air comfort for RCC students.

The ceiling-mounted two-pipe chilled beams, which range from two to 10-feet in length, supply all of the $7.6-million facility’s cooling. Air cooled by the chilled beams descends to the occupied space and pushes warmer air up to be chilled again in a perpetual air displacement strategy. A 130-ton air-cooled chiller with scroll technology and an ice storage system supplies the chilled beams’ water loop.

In addition to perfect indoor environmental conditions, the CEIC’s comprehensive energy savings result provides a quick six-year payback of HVAC equipment costs.

www.semcohvac.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Sam Houston State University Completes Athletic Stadium Renovations

    Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, recently announced the reopening of Elliott T. Bowers Stadium after an extensive renovation project, according to a news release. The university partnered with Stantec and DLR Group for the project’s design.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • Auburn University Debuts $224M STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., recently opened its new $224-million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest research construction project in the university’s history, according to university news. The facility measures more than 265,000 square feet and brings six departments from the College of Agriculture and College of Sciences and Mathematics together under one roof.

  • Western Kentucky University Breaks Ground on First Phase of $350M Student Housing Project

    Western Kentucky University (WKU) in Bowling Green, Ky., recently broke ground on the first phase of a $350-million student housing initiative, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Gilbane Development through a public-private partnership (P3) to replace aging residence halls and modernize on-campus living accommodations.