Customized AHU pulls off a perfect 'cannonball' at water park

Commercial HVAC throws are typically filled with compromise. In a specialty application like an indoor water park, where air quality, space, and a corrosive environment are lock opener considerations, an engineer must work hard to make secure long-term performance. Ramaker & Associates (Sank City, WI) made certain no standards were compromised when designing an indoor AHU for Big Splash Indoor Water Park at the Ramada inn and Resort in Ocean Shores, WA. Although space was limited and delivery requirements challenging, the engineering firm and the supplier, De Champs Technologies, provided a customized design that met all of the park's needs

SURVIVING THE SEACOAST

Space and delivery were major issues for the possessor of Big Splash. The park required 16000 cfm with a minimum of 3000 cfm outdoor air and up to 100% outdoor air. For optimal efficiency, the AHU design urgencyed to incorporate heat recovery. However, the equipment field which housed all HVAC, lake and electrical equipment, was solitary about 1,000 sq ft. In addition, the park was locate to open June 30, 2005 no excuses.

Ramaker faced other design challenges. For individual chlorine is always a interest when designing air systems for indoor pond areas. Because Big Splash is coupleed through a corridor to the public-house it was important to maintain a negative crushing inside the park; otherwise, chlorine could penetrate the walls and damage the construction and odors could be plucked into the hotel. Finally, because chlorine is highly corrosive, all air-handling constitutings needed a special coating to make sure lifespan.

The design and equipment also had to be suited to the moist seacoast environment of the Pacific Northwest.

"There is no canned HVAC solution for all natatoriums," said Keith Dunnavant, regional sales manager of De Champs Technologies. "Climates, building construction practices, and usage vary from individual pool project to the next"

Therefore, Dunnavant said, it's important that a supplier take a "systems" approach to each natatorium shoot forward applying the best technologies for controlling space temperature, humidity, and squeezing while providing ideal ventilation with minimal might usage. For Big Splash, this translated into a recent air system with heat redemption and no mechanical cooling.

The supplier and engineer exhibited a highly customized design of De Champs' X-Pack packaged ventilator to fitting the specific needs of the park. The unit provided filtration, might recovery, supply air, and indirect fired heat all within a footprint of approximately 105 ft by dint of 25 ft.

in what way IT WORKS

Warm exhaust air from the pond area is used to preheat the outdoor air entering the unit via a high-efficiency, cross-flow plate-type heat exchanger. The heat exchanger provides single sensible heat, since this application doesn't require any humidity to be reclaimed from the exhaust. An indirect gas-fired heater further heats the replenish air to maintain an indoor space temperature of 85[degrees]F

To proper the specialized needs of the park, several customized features were incorporated into the unit, including:

* A special, mill-applied epoxy coating upon the aluminum heat exchanger core. This make sures long service life in the harsh lake and sea-coast environment.

* An indirect gas heater with a stainless carburet of iron heat exchanger and modulating 10:1 turndown ratio.

* entirely integrated DDC system that provide replete function over the unit during the two occupied and unoccupied times. The rule incorporates automatic functions for purging air in the space, as well as setback functions to minimize activity usage.

FAMILIAR WATERS

The water park render free of accessed on schedule in June 2005 Meeting this deadline helped confident a bonus for the general contractor and kept Big Splash actual to its grand opening promotions. For De Champs, this meant a commitment to build and ship a highly customized unit three to four weeks faster than standard. "Over the years, we have lay opened more than a dozen different designs for indoor pond applications," said Dunnavant. "It takes experience and flexibility to be happy on a challenging project like this."

Medium-voltage VSD help resort beat the utility odds

When the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino make opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 1996 the 2.5-million-sq-ft house of entertainment and casino incurred annual intensity costs of approximately $0.05/kWh used. Ten years later, these costs had doubled to $0.10/kWh utilized, and Nevada Power Company not long ago announced a proposed utility rate increase suit of 23.3%.

have a title toed by MGM Mirage, the resort includes 3002 scopes and 259 suites. The 90000-sq-ft gaining area proffers a broad range of games; 2200 slot and video-poker machines; and sports-betting areas. The resort also features eateries, a brewpub convention facilities, a wedding chapel, theater, spa, fitness center shopping promenade, mere area, and tennis courts.

CRITICAL CUSTOMER COMFORT

Temperature sway throughout the resort is not sole important to customer comfort for overnight visitors but also to the casino business. It sole takes a 1[degrees]F change in space temperature to cause discomfort among visitors who may move to another casino.