The Background
IceWorks Skating Complex in Aston, PA experienced increasing difficulty managing their aging HVAC equipment. They had used multiple vendors over time, resulting in a patchwork of single-issue solutions, a lack of regular HVAC preventative maintenance on their equipment, high electric bills, and insufficient cooling in one of their ice hockey rinks during the hottest months of summer. In addition to these mechanical issues, their customers were being inconvenienced by uncomfortable locker rooms and excessive moisture (fogging) on the glass in the restaurant area.
Manager Stephane Charbonneau told us “Our restaurant and locker room walls were full of dripping water from humidity, and mold was building up on the floors from all of the moisture.”
Proposed Solutions
The Oliver team recommended a comprehensive plan to the client, including adding duct returns to conditioned spaces, adding duct work to the locker rooms, repairing the MUA, and installing an air curtain at the front doors.
In addition to these repairs and adjustments, the team proposed a 5 year comprehensive HVAC preventative maintenance and replacement plan to cover the aging HVAC units. This plan would allow the client to manage the costs of replacing all of their HVAC units plus establish a regular maintenance schedule and additional repairs at a set monthly price instead of with large cash investments at irregular intervals.
The Outcome
The customer accepted Oliver Mechanical’s recommendations and entered into a 5 year comprehensive maintenance and replacement plan.
All 15 of the HVAC units have been replaced with new units that include hail guards, a hail guard has been added to the 16th unit that was replaced, the duct returns have been added to the conditioned space, duct work added to the locker rooms and to supplement cooling in the skating rinks during summer months, the MUA is now operable, and an air curtain has been installed at the front doors. The customer reports that they have reduced their electrical consumption by 11%.
