M & E Mechanical Department
M & E takes great pride in our Mechanical Consulting team. Our department features the versatility and experience to facilitate whatever needs presented.
Our services include, but are not limited to:
-New Construction Design
-Evaluating and reporting of building services including, heating & air, ventilation, storm & sanitary systems.
-Replacement and design, of boiler and chiller plants
-Energy Audits
-Plumbing, drainage, design and placing of piping.
-Consultation, Expert Witness, and project management
The Modern Boiler
The newest styles of boilers are condensing boilers which can produce the highest efficiencies of up to 97% depending on the water temperatures. Once the hot water temperatures drop below 130 0F (55 0C) efficiencies start to climb from 86% up to 97%. In order to produce low water temperatures below 130 0F (55 0C) you must have a system that can use low hot water temperatures and a boiler that can withstand high pH levels within the boiler heat exchanger. There are different burners that a boiler can incorporate in it’s design including atmospheric, fan induced, and different styles of power burners. Each having it’s cost and efficiency benefits. Also different burners will be able to control amount of Nitric Oxide that is being discharged which maybe critical when designing large boilers in high density or sensitive areas.
Boilers
Boilers have been around for a very long time - burning everything from wood, oil and natural gas to produce hot water to heat buildings. We have come a long way from an open flame heating a kettle full of water, to very sophisticated burners to the materials used in the boilers to the computer controls to manage the operation of the boilers. Over the many years boilers have drastically changed from a very large, heavy and inefficient piece of equipment to a very highly developed instigate piece of energy efficient equipment. Boilers have come from being 60% to 80% efficient to modern day boilers being 86% to 97% energy efficient. Gone are the days of thick heavy cast iron welded boilers to high tech cast iron that is flexible, to thin copper and stainless steel materials.
Maintain your Building's Heating Systems.
Avoid Failures, Downtime, Maintain Cost and Save Energy depending on the age, condition and efficiency of your building's Boilers it may be time to consider replacement.
BOILERS
Typical boiler (s) have a life expectancy of 20-30 years.
Boiler (s) must be maintained to provide reliable operation with minimum repairs and downtime.
Efficiencies can be substantially reduced on older equipment.
Chillers
Chillers are the heart of a cooling system in a large building including condominiums and large commercial buildings. They use power to drive compressors to compress refrigerant, which allows it to expand to cool (chill) water. The chilled water is then used to cool the building through heat exchangers and coils. Heat from the chiller is rejected through a cooling tower located on the outside of the building. In the last couple of years, chillers have gone through significant improvements to increase their efficiency, therefore reducing the amount of energy to produce the same amount of cooling. Improvements have also been made in the operation of the chillers with the use of computer controls and sophisticated interfacing with the Building Automation Systems. Older chillers’ were 0.85 to 0.80 kW/Tonnes of cooling while the newer chillers are significantly more efficient around 0.55 to 0.45 kW/Tonnes of cooling. Learn more with our printable PDF here:
Key changes include:
-Outside air is no longer brought in at a constant rate during the day
-CO2 levels can be monitored and adjusted within the building allowing for the perfect amount of outside air at all times.
-The above changes increase comfort level and reduce energy costs and increasing comfort.
Other such systems that can be controlled as such:
-heating and lighting
-security and CO monitoring
Plus much much more!
Building Automation Controls
Building Automation Controls (BAC) systems have rapidly changed over the past decade. Before Direct Digital Controls (DDC), pneumatic controls (compressed air) were used predominantly for decades. With the onset of DDC, BAC systems have been changing and becoming more complicated, resulting in more exact reading. Considerable changes have been made in controls to increase their accuracy and efficiency, the goal being to control more systems within the required environment using the least amount of energy. With today’s technology every temperature in the building - from the space, to the heating and cooling loops, to outside air intakes and exhaust can be monitored and controlled. Building Systems throughout the building can be monitored via WR3
Heat Pumps
Heat Pumps first originated in the mid 1800’s and have come a long way since then. There are several different types but the two most common are air and hot water heat pumps. Water is most commonly used in a commercial or high rise residential building. In the heat pump unit there is a refrigeration compressor, two heat exchangers (one to the building loop and one passing air through it to cool/heat the air), a supply air fan, and a reserving valve. The unit is capable of cooling the supply air by discarding heat into the building loop, and vice versa - when the reserving valve changes the flow of refrigerant the unit is capable of heating the supply air by obtaining heat from the building loop. Therefore in the summer the heat pump loop warms up and is cooled via a cooling tower, and in the winter time the heat pump loop is cooled and warmed by boilers. Deep holes are drilled into the ground to extract heat or inject heat from the heat pump loop into the ground, as the ground temperature is always in around 55 *F (13 *C).
Fan Coil Refurbishment
Fan Coil Units typically have a life span of 20-25 years. Outdated or innefective FCU’s can be very costly for apartment buildings, and should be upgraded immediately. Ineffective FCU’s are a breeding ground for mold and water damage, and increase the possibility for flooding.
Kitec Piping Replacement
Kitec piping was invented in the mid-1990’s with the thought of being a safer, more reliable option to transport drinking water than the copper-lined piping that was being used. Kitec was thought to be more easily installable than regular pipe as well, making it a popular option for plumbers. What was not foreseen however, were the many problems Kitec would have with fitting corrosion, and it’s failure rate.
Learn more about the failures and issues with Kitec piping here: