Fighting COVID-19 With Your HVAC System

Fighting COVID-19 With Your HVAC System

Fighting COVID-19 With Your HVAC System

Unfortunately, we have all been affected by this terrible virus. It has changed our everyday lives and how businesses manage their facilities. Many states are in the process of or developing plans to, reopen nonessential businesses. With that being said, it needs to be done safely.

Considering the virus is known to be transmitted through the air, it is believed that a properly maintained HVAC system can reduce the possibility of transmission from person to person. The reasoning behind this is supported by the fact that when a person infected with an illness coughs or sneezes, pathogens can be encapsulated within droplets of fluid and discharged into the air.

Smaller particles referred to as droplet nuclei can remain suspended. Infectious aerosols are a gathering of pathogen-laden particles in the air. Aerosol particles may deposit onto or be inhaled by a vulnerable person. HVAC systems supply clean air, contain contaminated air, and exhaust it outdoors, dilute the air with cleaner air from outdoors. Because of this, experts feel the risk of spread can be affected both positively and negatively by an HVAC system in a building.

What The Experts Are Saying

In April 2020, The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) issued several statements to assist in defining guidance on managing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease (Coronavirus). The first was developed in response to incorrect opinions surrounding HVAC systems.

ASHRAE disagrees with advice not to run residential or commercial HVAC systems and emphasizes that keeping air conditioners on during this time can help control the spread of the virus. Here is the official statement regarding airborne transmission:

“Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through the air is sufficiently likely that airborne exposure to the virus should be controlled. Changes to building operations, including the operation of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems, can reduce airborne exposures.”

- The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)


Here is a second ASHRAE statement regarding the operation of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems to reduce SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 transmission:

“Ventilation and filtration provided by heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems can reduce the airborne concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and thus the risk of transmission through the air. Unconditioned spaces can cause thermal stress to people that may be directly life threatening and that may also lower resistance to infection. In general, disabling of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems is not a recommended measure to reduce the transmission of the virus.”

- The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)

What It Means

Given these opinions, routine preventative maintenance (PM) and the changing of HVAC filters have never been more important. PMs paired with other strategies such as temperature and humidity distribution control and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) are believed to help reduce virus transmission while removing other air contaminants. While ventilation can’t address all aspects of infection spread, it does impact the circulation of infectious aerosols.

Some Recommendations Moving Forward:

  • If installing/designing a new system, whether a high-risk facility or not, the mitigation of infectious aerosols needs more focus than in the past. Also, make sure there are cleaner airflow patterns.
  • Increase PM frequency. At a minimum, a quarterly inspection should be taking place and paired with monthly filter changes if possible.
  • Enhance filtration and use higher minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) filters, well over code minimums. Everyone should be using filters rated between 13-16 if the systems support them.
  • Clean coils at every service and chemically clean once annually.
  • Increase outdoor air ventilation (open outdoor air dampers to 100% as conditions permit).
  • Keep systems running as much as possible, preferably 24/7.
  • Verify the room sensors are calibrated and working properly.
  • Ensure room controllers and monitors are working and communicating with supply and exhaust airflow valves.

Medical Facilities Should Consider The Following:

  • Exhaust toilets and bedpans.
  • Maintain temperature and humidity as applicable to the infectious aerosol of concern.
  • Maintain negatively pressurized intensive care units and rooms with infectious aerosol concerns.
  • High-level exhaust to all patient rooms.
  • Use of UVGI.
  • Increase the outdoor air change rate.

Final Thoughts

As people around the globe navigate the rapidly evolving novel COVID-19 pandemic, it is extremely important to educate yourself as frequently as possible. We are learning something new every day and it is our responsibility to make sure we take all the necessary precautions to keep employees and customers safe. If you haven’t had an HVAC PM completed in the past 3 months, it’s very important to get one scheduled ASAP.

Contact Us

To learn more about HVAC and Handyman maintenance for your multi-site portfolio, give Ferrandino & Son a call to speak with a Business Development Representative at:
866-571-4609
You can also reach us at:
 sales@ferrandinoandson.com

Case Study: LED Lighting Reduces Energy Use by 70% While Reducing Maintenance Costs

Case Study: LED Lighting Reduces Energy Use by 70% While Reducing Maintenance Costs

The Customer:

A discount variety retailer offering both brand name and generic merchandise – including off-brand goods and closeouts of name-brand items. The client is currently operating over 10,000 stores in 40 U.S. states.

The Objective:

The store’s objective was to reduce lighting maintenance and service costs while at the same time providing a brighter retail environment for its customers to enhance the shopping experience and sales of merchandise.

The Solution:

Retrofitted the store location during the store’s normal business operating hours with minimal customer disruption. In total, fifty-seven T12, 4-foot, 2-lamp fixtures had fluorescent lamps replaced with 4-foot linear LED lamps. Seventy-eight T8, 4-foot, 1-lamp fixtures had fluorescent lamps replaced with 4-foot linear LED lamps. Six T12, 8-foot, 2-lamp fixtures had fluorescent lamps replaced with 8-foot linear LED lamps. Thirty-one 250 watt metal halide lamps were replaced with fourteen, 4-foot, 38-watt LED linear luminaire lighting fixtures and LED lamps.

The Results:

Based on current annual hours of store operation and current electrical rates, the store location is expected to:
1. Save $2,760 in first-year maintenance costs – projected to equate to $31,645 in maintenance costs over 10 years anticipated LED lamp life.
2. Realize a $4,457 reduction in energy savings within year one. Equal to a 70% reduction in kWh/year of energy usage.
3. Provide an annual emissions reduction of 65,342 lbs of greenhouse gases. Saving approximately 174 trees annually.
4. Current store customers have remarked about the brighter look the store is now projecting upon entering the store as well as the ability to see merchandise detail and colors more vividly while shopping in the store.
5. This led to changes throughout the client’s portfolio on the national level.

Interested in Learning More?

To learn more about lighting and general maintenance for your multi-site portfolio,
give Ferrandino & Son a call at:
866-571-4609
and ask to speak to someone in our Business Development Team.
You can also reach us at: sales@ferrandinoandson.com

Case Study: Refrigerated Display Case LED Lighting Retrofit

Case Study: Refrigerated Display Case LED Lighting Retrofit

Customer:

A supermarket chain engaged principally in the retail sale of groceries, dairy products, frozen foods, meats, seafood, fresh produce, flowers, pharmacy services, deli products, prepared foods, bakery products, beer/wine, fuel, and general merchandise.

Objective:

This supermarket chain needed a program to enhance the visual appeal of its refrigerated vertical cases while reducing its associated energy costs.

Challenge:

Reviewing the refrigerated display case specifications, we recognized that a traditional retrofit approach of replacing components with upgraded lamps and ballasts would not achieve the required improvement. We needed to recommend a solution that would slash energy and maintenance costs while enhancing the visual appeal of their vertical cases.

Solution:

We offered a retrofit program created specifically for refrigerated vertical cases. GE’s Immersion™ RV40 LED Refrigerated Display Lighting cuts annual operating costs while improving illumination of the packaged products. The perfect replacement for fluorescent lighting, GE’s Immersion™ solution efficiently delivers bright uniform light on the inside of the case, while significantly reducing energy consumption and maintenance expenses. This is an easy to install solution, contains no lead or mercury as with other lighting sources, and is both RoHS and NSF compliant.  A rated life of 50,000 hours and a 5-year warranty are icing on the cake.

Results:

For a typical location with 18 cases and 83 door retrofits:

  1. An immediate $5,000 per year reduction in maintenance costs. An immediate 86% reduction in energy usage resulting in $6,100 annual utility cost savings.
  2. An annual reduction of 78,533 lbs. of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere Qualified for a $4,700 utility rebate.

“Ferrandino & Son is a great partner that provided a turnkey solution to my LED
cooler door retrofitting projects. They were involved in all aspects of the process from
providing return on investment analysis, implementing retrofits and processing rebates.”

Interested in Learning More?

To learn more about lighting and general maintenance for your multi-site portfolio,
give Ferrandino & Son a call at:
866-571-4609
and ask to speak to someone in our Business Development Team.
You can also reach us at: sales@ferrandinoandson.com

Case Study: LED lighting retrofits replacing fluorescents reduces maintenance costs and greenhouse gases.

Case Study: LED lighting retrofits replacing fluorescents reduces maintenance costs and greenhouse gases.

The Customer:

A manufacturer of electrical and print technology products with several manufacturing locations and strategically positioned distribution warehouses throughout the United States to service their various customer bases. The company offers graphic vinyl films, flexible substrates, print technology, and commercial and electrical signage products.

The Objective:

This manufacturer needed a solution to reduce energy costs while maintaining current light levels at an East coast manufacturing facility.

The Challenge:

Reviewing their existing lighting configuration and components (T12-Lamps, Magnetic Ballasts) we recognized that a traditional retrofit approach of replacing these outdated components with upgraded lamps and ballasts would best achieve a cost-effective improvement.

The Solution:

We offered a lighting retrofit program to replace the existing outdated 360 T12 fluorescent lamped-fixtures with new high-performance, long lasting, energy efficient LED tubes and Power Supplies. Our project management team executed this retrofit on time and within the budget without any disruptions to manufacturing schedules.

The Results:
  1. An immediate reduction of maintenance costs estimated at $7,000+ annually for the first 4-years due to both the products rated life (36,000 hrs.) and their multi-year warranty.
  2. An immediate reduction of energy usage by 53% AND an estimated $12,000+ annual utility cost savings based on the U.S. average retail price of electricity of $0.1032.
  3. An annual reduction of 34,286 lbs. of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere (a fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect).

“The difference is stunning, both visually and financially. The fixtures make a big difference
in the work environment, and we’re extremely pleased with the end result”.

Interested in Learning More?

To learn more about lighting and general maintenance for your multi-site portfolio,
give Ferrandino & Son a call at:
866-571-4609
and ask to speak to someone in our Business Development Team.
You can also reach us at: sales@ferrandinoandson.com

Case Study: Capital Projects Cost-Plus Wins!

Case Study: Capital Projects Cost-Plus Wins!

Case Study Overview

A national REIT with thousands of properties anchored mostly by well-known grocery chains was looking to consolidate their capital expenditures with one company. Some of the outcomes they hoped to achieve included improved pricing, faster turnaround times from “scoped job” to completion, better communication channels with the partner doing the work and a completely upgraded validation process for when work is completed.

They needed a better way of handling their capital work.

Project Kickoff

After multiple meetings with different stakeholders to learn more about the needs of the program, Ferrandino & Son launched the program with a two day workshop, bringing in members of our own Capital Projects Team along with IT, Finance and Senior Leadership.

The client was represented with stakeholders from their Facility Department, Operations, Procurement, Accounting and Risk Management teams.

The goals of the workshop included the following:

  1. Identify the goals of each department and then to define the outcome that would be achieved if we delivered on those goals.
  2. Develop a project workflow that would be the guide for every capital initiative, regardless of scale or spend.
  3. Develop a plan to provide transparency and better budget certainly around the projects.
Project Challenges

The client was burdened with what they felt was an outdated model.  Each project was being managed by a local stakeholder, using unique vendor pools with different scopes, missed deadlines and a complete lack of transparency on the final product delivered.  The client needed guidance on how to manage the workflow.

Through the initial planning stages, we identified 3 critical steps:

Step #1: Planning: Identify each area for repair, how each bid should be broken down (areas of the site), and what the time frame is for the project. This would allow all vendors to quote the same scope of work.

Step #2: Communication: Work directly with the Property Managers to ensure each site had before and after pictures and the work was done to the full extent requested by the Property Manager.

Step #3: Budget: Using our Subject Matter Experts, we were able to negotiate the best price per project and ensure that all work would be completed to brand standards.

Ferrandino & Son’s Solutions

With multiple locations in different territories, it was important for Ferrandino & Son to create a plan that was easy for the client to understand and stay within their budget.

Ferrandino & Son first executed site walks at each property. Conversations with each Property Manager, validating areas to be covered, detailed breakdowns of the bids, defining strong time frames and reviewing photos were crucial to ensuring a detailed SOW would be supplied to each vendor to follow. This was all validated by the Property Managers.

After vendor submissions estimates were received, negotiations began with quotes being resubmitted and proposal drawn up for each Property Manager. Once approved by the Property Managers, Ferrandino & Son was able to offer complete oversight during the project.  Project updates and pictures were sent throughout the process to keep the Property Manager up-to-date. In addition, once each project was completed, pictures and completed punch lists were issued to the Property Mangers for final approval.

These new processes significantly improved the time each project took to complete with one point of contact to manage each project from beginning to end.

Summary

Communication was the key to completing this project and driving costs within the budget. The initial stages of reviewing each property with the Property Manager was crucial to ensuring each vendor was able to submit a proposal based on the same requirements.

In addition, this helped with further negotiations and receiving better prices for the work to be completed. The consolidation this REIT took with Ferrandino & Son helped reduce project completion by 30% and additional Cap Ex projects were able to be funneled into this program for Insurance Claims, Emergency Services, and Violations from Inspections resulting in a higher ROI for everybody.

The program ultimately landed on a cost-plus model that allowed both sides to remove the uncertainty around cost and allowed the relationship to move into more of a collaborative effort.

A win-win for everybody.

Interested in Learning More?

To learn more about Capital Projects and a Cost-Plus program for your multi-site portfolio,
give Ferrandino & Son a call at:
866-571-4609
and ask to speak to someone in our Business Development Team.
You can also reach us at: sales@ferrandinoandson.com

Case Study: LED Lighting Retrofit — Distribution Center

Case Study: LED Lighting Retrofit — Distribution Center

The Customer:

A premier kitchen and bath distributor twice named America’s “Wholesaler of the Year”. The company is responsible for supplying some of the most exclusive residences, opulent estates, hotels, landmarks, sports stadiums, hospitals, and universities in the Northeast.

The Objective:

This distributor needed a solution to reduce both energy and maintenance costs while improving current light levels at one of its largest Northeast distribution facilities.

The Challenge:

Review both their existing interior and exterior lighting configurations and components (Interior-T12-Lamps, Magnetic Ballasts: Exterior–HID/HPS Lamps, Magnetic Ballasts) to decipher a more cost effective solution. After review, we recognized that a traditional retrofit approach of replacing these outdated components with upgraded lamps and ballasts would not achieve the cost-effective improvement required.

The Solution:

We offered an LED retrofit installation program to replace the existing outdated 943 interior T12 fluorescent lamped-fixtures with new high-performance, long lasting, energy efficient LED Tubes, and the 33 exterior HID/HPS fixtures with new energy efficient LED fixtures. The Project Management Team executed this retrofit on time and on budget.

The Results:
  1.  An immediate reduction in maintenance costs estimated at $23,000 annually for the next 10 years due to both the products rated life (60,000 hrs.) and their multi-year warranty.
  2. An immediate reduction of energy usage by 68% AND an estimated $40,000+ annual utility cost savings based on the U.S. average retail price of electricity of $0.1032.
  3. An annual reduction of 303,000 lbs. of Greenhouse Gases emitted into the atmosphere.
  4. This installation qualified for the maximum $63,000 Energy Improvement and Extension Act 2008 (EPACT) tax deduction for capital improvements.

Interested in Learning More?

To learn more about lighting and general maintenance for your multi-site portfolio,
give Ferrandino & Son a call at:
866-571-4609
and ask to speak to someone in our Business Development Team.
You can also reach us at: sales@ferrandinoandson.com