Category

Central Plant Design

NC State Greenland Project Named “Best Project” by Engineering News-Record

By | Central Plant Construction, Central Plant Design, Company News, District Energy

A Greenland Enterprises project at NC State University has been named one of the year’s best projects by Engineering News-Record. The project was recognized from more than 95 submitted, garnering top honors in the Energy/Industrial category for the Southeast Region. The honorees are chosen by an independent panel of judges. Read More

Navy Hospital Completes New Chiller Plant Project

By | Central Plant Design, Chiller Construction

Although Greenland was not involved in the new chiller plant project at the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, WA, an article in Defense Visual Information Distribution Service highlights the benefits of upgrading aging infrastructure. According to the article, the recently completed project reduces costs via new controls, and features a smaller chiller for lighter loads, which nets a 40 percent reduction in cooling demand. Read More

Upgrading Central Plants to Include Uninterrupted Power and Microgrids

By | Central Plant Construction, Central Plant Design

Like a phone’s dial tone, uninterrupted power is often taken for granted until the power goes out and you need it. While power outages are a disruption for many businesses and organizations, for medical centers and clinics power loss can be life-threatening. As facilities age, the industry as a whole is seeing more demands for uninterrupted power in central plant specs. Read More

2018 Hospital Construction Survey Addresses Hurricane Hardening

By | Central Plant Construction, Central Plant Design, Flooding, Hospital Construction

Designing and building central plants for hospitals is no longer limited to efficient systems with redundancy for critical components.  The lessons learned in Texas and Florida after major hurricanes are leading to changes in design and construction approaches for medical systems and similar environments.

According to the 2018 Hospital Construction Survey, conducted by The American Society for Healthcare Engineering, 89 percent of facilities professionals consider “resiliency” when designing and building new spaces.  Resiliency in construction means structures and components that resist both natural and human caused disasters, and allow for fast recovery after events. Read More

The Importance of Experience and Expertise

By | Central Plant Design, Chiller Construction, Design-Build Construction

A recent article in the UK publication Modern Building Services magazine provides a clear illustration of why experience and expertise is important in utility plant design and construction.  The article describes a project that replaced eight chillers on the roof of a BBC building, which would not be particularly noteworthy – except for the fact that the chillers failed prematurely due to being installed in an area that restricted critical airflow. Read More

Risk Management for Central Plant Systems During Construction

By | Central Plant Construction, Central Plant Design, Design-Build Construction, Invitation For Bid

Central utility plant construction involves the installation or modification of mission-critical systems that must continue to perform during buildout.  Boilers, chillers, cooling towers and similar infrastructure can occasionally go off-line for planned maintenance, but certainly not for the extended time periods required in new construction.  Unfortunately, in many cases a new plant must occupy the existing footprint, adding to the planning required and increasing the potential for service interruptions or complications. Read More