Mather Hospital

Project Type: Fuel Conversion / Control System Upgrade

History:

Central Heating Plant Consisted of Two 1971 350 HP Cleaver Brooks 4 Pass Dryback Low-Pressure Steam boilers burning No. 4 Fuel Oil.  Due to rising fuel oil costs and the desire to lower its carbon footprint and to be greener overall, Mather Hospital contacted National Grid to bring Natural Gas to the building.  Replacement of the boilers was not possible due to the boiler room being located in the central part of the building with no access with an exception for standard doors and hallways.  Fortunately, the maintenance staff at Mather Hospital had done an excellent job maintaining the boilers allowing them to be upgraded to burn Natural Gas.

Scope:

MPN provided High Turndown Dual Fuel (Natural Gas / Number 2 Fuel Oil) Burner Assemblies, Ventless Gas Trains.  In addition, MPN provided Cleaver Brooks HAWK ICS 4000 Control Systems configured for Parallel Positioning Combustion Control with Oxygen Trim and Variable Speed Drive on the Combustion Air Fan.  In addition, MPN provided a Cleaver Brooks HAWK ICS BacNet Communication Panel to connect the new boiler control systems to the hospital's Building Automation System.  The hospital was provided with updated factory wiring diagrams completely referencing the original boiler serial numbers.

Outcome:

Upon completion of the Upgrade, Mather Hospital received a rebate in the amount of $51,593.00 from National Grid.  The hospital primarily uses Natural Gas as its primary fuel source, however, number 2 Fuel oil is available as a backup.  Although the boilers are over 40 years old, combustion efficiencies while operating on Natural Gas are in excess of 85% thanks to the Cleaver Brooks HAWK ICS Combustion Control Systems.

Customer Statement:

John T. Mather Memorial Hospital’s construction management office along with Miller Proctor Nickolas was instrumental for the seamless transition of this retrofit project.  The first boiler was completed and commissioned before work for the second boiler began.  The project (which included a new fuel oil pump station as well) was completed prior to the start of the full winter heating load season.  The tie-in with the hospital’s BMS allows the operators to monitor and manage the boilers and the overall heating plant at its highest possible efficiency.  This now helps the hospital to achieve substantial fuel cost savings while being environmentally friendly.