Issues

The original air cooled chiller installed in 1998 had becoming unreliable, negatively affecting the comfort of building occupants, including AvMed on-call nurses working in a 24/7 support center

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Solution

W.W. Gay Mechanical, Inc. specified the Daikin 280-ton Pathfinder premium-efficiency chiller to reduce energy costs and improve employee comfort. "We've worked with AvMed previously on other buildings and knew this was the right solution for a replacement chiller," says Tom Easom, vice president of W.W. Gay Mechanical in Gainesville. "The significant energy savings offered by the Pathfinder and the rebate program by Gainesville Regional Utilities really sold the chiller."

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Outcome

The Pathfinder chiller was easily installed by W.W. Gay Mechanical over a weekend in January 2011 to avoid service disruption to AvMed employees. On a Saturday morning, the new chiller was lifted into place and attached to water piping and power. By Sunday morning electrical work was complete and the unit was started.

The new Pathfinder chiller reduced electrical usage costs 31% compared to the old chiller, earning a $24,478 rebate from the local utility. Building occupants now comment favorably to facility management about the more consistent comfort and quieter operation of the new chiller.

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