Comfort & Process Solutions of Kentucky fills two basic needs for the Commercial & Industrial industries, which are ironically: (1) comfort and (2) process, hence the inspiration of our company name. How do we fill these basic commercial needs? And why are these so essential to any business’ productivity?
COMFORT
Our focus on Comfort is to maintain the optimal temperature indoors for productivity, comfort and wellness for schools, hospitals, offices and factory floors. Whether in the extremes of Summer or Winter and all the greatly varying temperatures in between here in the Bluegrass, we install and maintain commercial premium brand chillers to adjust according for the maximum degree of comfort for your staff, students, patients and customers.
A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid via a vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration cycle. This liquid can then be circulated through a heat exchanger to cool equipment, or another process stream (such as air or process water).
PROCESS
Our focus on Process is to keep your business running twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week so our customers’ level of manufacturing production is consistent, effective and safe. Steam produced in a boiler can be used for a variety of purposes including space heating, sterilization, drying, humidification and power generation.
A boiler system is a hydronic system which acts as a closed vessel to convert the water inside into hot water or steam. In order for this to happen, typically energy from a fuel source such as gas or oil (but not limited to these) is converted into heat by combustion. The heat is then transferred to the contained water, thereby increasing the temperature and pressure which can be circulated as liquid or steam.
Steam or liquid produced by a boiler can be used in the production process, by playing a role in the actual production of the product by sterilization (by steam), or to achieve the processing temperatures needed for an aspect of production. Steam from the boiler can also often be used as fuel to power turbines for electric generating equipment, blowers, and pumps. A properly designed hydronic system is usually more efficient than a standard forced air system. The main function of a boiler is to heat water to a higher temperature or steam.
EXAMPLES OF BOILER & CHILLER COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL USAGE
Some examples of process usage in the industrial or commercial setting can include:
- Large Laundry facilities use steam applications for downstream processes like cleaning, pressing, using the mangle, ironing or finishing.
- Food industries that require heating and boiling of food during processing, with steam applications to provide safe, quality and great tasting food products for the market.
- Distilleries and Breweries require a complex production process where malt has to be ground, mixed with water in a mashing process, then steam heated to optimal temperatures for two to four hours, and subsequently cooled to trigger the yeast fermentation.
- Manufacturing Factories uses steam when molds have to be steam-heated to high temperatures and then cooled with water circulation to set the shape of the plastic or other material. For example in brick manufacturers, the stone compounds are placed inside a autoclave, where steam is injected to reach a temperature of 200 °C for a period of time to create enough pressure to harden the compounds into bricks.
- Hospitals require regular sterilization of all medical equipment, instruments and devices by exposure to steam under pressure. Sterilization is the total destruction of all forms of life, including bacterial spores, and iis best done with steam under pressure in an autoclave. For effective sterilization, the steam must be at the appropriate temperature, saturated with water without any mixture of air, and it must reach all parts of the load with the optimal level of saturation.
DESIGN, INSTALLATION & MAINTENANCE OF CHILLERS AND BOILERS
At Comfort and Process Solutions (CPS), our technicians are all experienced, certified and factory trained. We provide all aspects of design, installation, as well as maintenance of your commercial chiller and boilers. Initial design and installation of premium brand equipment can take several weeks as we design the most efficient layout of piping, fan coils and air handlers to transport the water from the equipment to the needed destination at the optimal temperature.
After installation, we monitor the functionality and setup throughout the next few weeks to ensure energy efficiency, water levels (NOWL), water temperature, and safe startup and shutdown. All boilers and chillers will require periodic maintenance and inspection, and over time may require considerable retrofit and retubing to maintain efficiency.
CASE STUDY – CHILLER: St. Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead, KY
CPS replaced a chiller system for St. Claire in the Summer of 2017 for their Server Room. A hospital’s server room needs consistent cooling of below 70°F to prevent servers from overheating and failing, which would not only cost the hospital thousands of dollars, but interrupt required process of informational services for the health and wellness of their patients.
Cooling a computing data center requires a highly custom design and build, due to such variables as the size of the room, number of servers and amount of ventilation. We recommend premium brand chillers designed for computers/server rooms as they have specific temperature and humidity controls. The hospital called CPS because their previous system was not functioning consistently and to prevent loss of their essential data, they needed replacement quickly and efficiently to reduce downtime. Within two days’ time after work started, their new server room chiller system was installed and functioning properly. New chiller installations come with a one-year parts and labor warranty, with extended manufacturer’s and extended warranties available at additional cost for most brands.
CASE STUDY – BOILER: Mason County Detention Center in Maysville, KY
We replaced a new boiler for the purpose of hot water heating for the continued comfort of the inmates and staff, as well as the process of laundry and food preparation. We worked with a local ESCO company*, who facilitated the project and managed the estimate energy savings costs. According to current legislation (Union County Jail Inmates v. DiBuono, 713 F.2d 984 [3d Cir. 1983]), prisoner rights include adequate heating, cooling, ventilation and light, so jail or prison inmates can only be without hot water for a limited amount of time without penalty.
Thus, CPS was called into to troubleshoot, remove the old system and deteriorated piping, and hence replace it with a new premium brand boiler system within seven hours to ensure the legal requirements of the detention center were met, as well as maintaining the comfort of the inmates and staff. Prefabricated piping was used to accelerate the timeline of installation. Part of the installation is setting up the boiler and new system for optimal efficiency and energy savings.
*An energy service company (ESCO) is a commercial or non-profit business providing a broad range of energy solutions including designs and implementation of energy savings projects, retrofitting, energy conservation, energy infrastructure outsourcing, power generation and energy supply, and risk management.
We keep your process moving!
Comfort & Process Solutions has been serving Central Kentucky for close to twenty years, since 1999. We provide Kentucky businesses, large and small, organizations, schools, hospitals and government buildings 24 hour HVAC service including installation and retrofit, design and build, repair and service, equipment replacement, preventative maintenance on all HVAC equipment. Our goal is to provide our services in the most responsive and valued way. We are committed to customer satisfaction.
Contact us for an on-site evaluation of your equipment for regular maintenance, repair or installation. We work with all brands, makes and models of commercial and industrial HVAC equipment.
