At any hospital, an operating room must meet certain temperature and humidity conditions for the sake of patient health and safety. Keeping the space cool and dry limits the growth of bacteria and thus the possibility of an infection. These requirements are a problem for many older hospitals, whose dated cooling systems struggle to keep up with the demand. One hospital in Oklahoma was not meeting the necessary conditions for their operating room, and was at risk of shutting the room down if proper temperature and humidity could not be restored soon enough. They decided to hire an engineering firm to install new HVAC equipment in the hospital, who had, in turn, called American Spot Cooling to implement temporary cooling in the meantime.
By using psychrometrics and airflow calculations to better understand how temperature, humidity, and air flow affect each other in the operating room, an ASC sales representative engineered a solution for the hospital. The plans were approved by the firm, and equipment was delivered within a week. A member of the American Spot Cooling management team then went to assist a mechanical contractor in a semi-permanent installation of the site.
To provide the necessary temperature and humidity control, two 30-ton air conditioners, a 1,500 CFM desiccant dehumidifier, and a variable frequency drive was installed on the hospital roof. The units were brought up to the roof via crane, connected to hard ducting, and wired into the hospital’s automation system. Permanent equipment was installed in November. Until then, the rental air conditioners and rental dehumidifier served the strict condition requirements of the operating room for just over a year in total.
By Sebastian Kopacz
