The industrial-style Tobey Building on the New Hampshire Hospital campus in Concord, NH, was renovated and is now considered to have one of the most state-of-the-art HVAC systems in the U.S.
SAM Mechanical Services, LLC, a commercial plumbing and HVAC company in New Hampshire, helped the facility and Lavalle Brensinger Architects design and install the new HVAC system.
This unique, green cooling system significantly reduces cooling costs. Power plants that serve New Hampshire must keep their output stable in order to provide needed electricity during peak daytime hours, but during off-peak hours overnight, the unused electricity goes to waste. As a result, local power plants provide special pricing during off-peak hours, which is metered separately. The off-peak ice storage production cooling system uses this reduced-rate electricity to its greatest advantage.
The system uses chillers to make and store ice in underground tanks overnight. During the day, when other buildings of comparable size have chiller systems running full bore, the Tobey Building is saving money by cooling with a recirculating water loop integrated into the underground ice tanks.
SAM Mechanical installed Viega MegaPress® fittings for the chilled water applications, an additional savings factor for the building. “We had several miles of pipe on each floor,” said Steve April, owner of SAM Mechanical. “It was a green design concept where everyone else’s bid went with geothermal.”
An efficient system all around, the time required to transition the Tobey Building into this unique system was critical, given the number of components that had to come together to make it happen and perform to required specifications.
“From our perspective, we were able to pipe it up in less time and overall less cost using Viega MegaPress fittings,” April said. “It cuts labor in so many ways and removes the sometimes frequent problem of threading and cutting equipment that’s not working properly. The Tobey job, which had thousands of fittings, saved at least 50% of piping installation time.”
Viega has the only press system for black iron pipe installations that covers hydronic applications with MegaPress and Viega MegaPressG for gas systems. With system-matched tools and jaws, press connections are made in less than seven seconds, making Viega MegaPress suitable for virtually any type of project. For the Tobey Building, where time and quality counted, SAM Mechanical trusted Viega to get the job done right the first time.
“I would encourage anyone considering using Viega MegaPress to do so,” April said. “At the end of the day, a big job can have a substantial savings especially in labor. As far as the Tobey Building, with that many fittings it was important to choose a product that wouldn’t leak, giving me peace of mind that I helped keep this historical building safe and secure for decades to come.”
Viega MegaPress used for chilled water in HVAC system
For more information, visit www.viega.us.
Viega
800.976.9819
insidesales@viega.us
Related Stories
Esports Arenas | Oct 10, 2023
Modular esports arena attracts more than gamers
As the esports market continues to grow to unprecedented numbers, more facilities are being developed by universities and real estate firms each year.
Luxury Residential | Oct 2, 2023
Chicago's Belden-Stratford luxury apartments gets centennial facelift
The Belden-Stratford has reopened its doors following a renovation that blends the 100-year-old building’s original architecture with modern residences.
Office Buildings | Sep 28, 2023
Structural engineering solutions for office-to-residential conversion
IMEG's Edwin Dean, Joe Gulden, and Doug Sweeney, share seven key focuses for structural engineers when planning office-to-residential conversions.
Cladding and Facade Systems | Sep 22, 2023
5 building façade products for your next multifamily project
A building's façade acts as a first impression of the contents within. For the multifamily sector, they have the potential to draw in tenants on aesthetics alone.
MFPRO+ Blog | Sep 21, 2023
The benefits of strategic multifamily housing repositioning
With the rapid increase in new multifamily housing developments, owners of existing assets face increasing competition. As their assets age and the number of new developments increases seemingly day-by-day, developers will inevitably have to find a way to stay relevant.
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 13, 2023
Houston's first innovation district is established using adaptive reuse
Gensler's Vince Flickinger shares the firm's adaptive reuse of a Houston, Texas, department store-turned innovation hub.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 31, 2023
Small town takes over big box
GBBN associate Claire Shafer, AIA, breaks down the firm's recreational adaptive reuse project for a small Indiana town.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 16, 2023
One of New York’s largest office-to-residential conversions kicks off soon
One of New York City’s largest office-to-residential conversions will soon be underway in lower Manhattan. 55 Broad Street, which served as the headquarters for Goldman Sachs from 1967 until 1983, will be reborn as a residence with 571 market rate apartments. The 30-story building will offer a wealth of amenities including a private club, wellness and fitness activities.
Government Buildings | Aug 2, 2023
A historic courthouse in Charlotte is updated and expanded by Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Robert A.M. Stern Architects’ design retains the original building’s look and presence.
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 27, 2023
Number of U.S. adaptive reuse projects jumps to 122,000 from 77,000
The number of adaptive reuse projects in the pipeline grew to a record 122,000 in 2023 from 77,000 registered last year, according to RentCafe’s annual Adaptive Reuse Report. Of the 122,000 apartments currently undergoing conversion, 45,000 are the result of office repurposing, representing 37% of the total, followed by hotels (23% of future projects).
