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Montreal, May 1, 2007 - Dectron Internationale (TSX: DTL):, a leader in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning, indoor air security and water generation markets, is pleased to announce its financial results for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2007 (in thousands of Canadian dollars) ...
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| Dectron DRY-O-TRON |
August 13, 2003 |
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HVAC Retrofit Solves College Pool's Indoor Air Quality Problems.
Swim coach and engineer design a state-of-the-art dehumidification and air distribution system to improve IAQ.
Carlisle, Penn.- It didn't take spectators long to discover that the best seat in the house at Dickinson College swim meets was through a window in a hallway outside the natatorium. With just a few minutes inside the natatorium, spectators and swimmers had to endure damp clothes, itchy eyes and poor indoor air laden with moisture and pool chemicals.
Even Swim Coach, Paul Richards' swim team had to use inhalers occasionally at the Carlisle, Penn.-based college's swim meets as well as practices. It took several years since he arrived in 1994, but Richards finally convinced officials that a HVAC retrofit of the 10,000-square-foot natatorium was not only important to attracting new competitive swimmers and keeping them healthy, but also vital to preserving metal hardware and the roof of the connected 80,000-square-foot Kline Athletic Center.
Previously an outdated air conditioner was relied upon to supply dehumidified air. Typically, conventional air conditioning methodology isn't capable of handling large humidity loads such as Dickinson's estimated 180 lbs/hr. of moisture capacity. Additionally, air was inadequately circulated from a series of five 3X3-foot single grills in one wall and a single 4X5-foot wall grill return. With the resultant air stratification, Richards found better air circulation results exhausting most of the air through open doors with floor-standing exhaust fans.
Richards, who has a Masters degree in sports sciences with a specialization in aquatics maintenance, management and design, teamed up with Dickinson's Supervisor of Mechanical and Electrical Trades, Durwin Ellerman to find an HVAC solution.
The duo anchored the retrofit around a Dry-O-Tron® RS-182/282, a 25,000-cfm heat recovery dehumidifier manufactured by Dectron Internationale, Roswell, Ga. The Dry-O-Tron dehumidifies, heats and cools the space while also heating portions of the pool water through an efficient heat recovery process. A Kline Athletic Center domestic water boiler with a heat exchanger is used to supplement pool water heating.
The natatorium's limited space for a mechanical room on the cathedral style roof and indoor areas necessitated an exterior ground level, outdoor location for the dehumidifier. However all exterior work had to complement the natatorium's stone walls and other surroundings of the historic 229-year-old liberal arts college's campus. "We couldn't just have the equipment sitting on the ground in any manner because one of the campus's main street is just a few yards away from the natatorium," recalled Ellerman.
Ellerman's aesthetic solution to this challenge was a wooden fence with posts that matched the natatorium's stonework. The RS model dehumidifier, which is designed with bottom supply and return ports for rooftop placement, was reconfigured at the factory with top ports. This enabled mechanical contractor, Tuckey Mechanical, Carlisle, Penn., to run shop-fabricated rectangular metal ductwork up 25 feet high outside the wall to the indoor duct connection.
To hide the exterior ductwork and blend the installation into the existing Drivet façade surface at one end of the natatorium, Ellerman wrapped the ductwork in 1-1/2-inch Styrofoam with an outer layer of matching Drivet. "The ductwork now appears like an ornamental part of the building," Ellerman noted.
Also integral to the retrofit's success is the air distribution design. Relying on the recommendations of Rich Munkittrick, vice president of manufacturer's representative, H & H Sales, Mechanicsburg, Pa., Richards chose fabric duct from manufacturer, DuctSox., Dubuque, Iowa.
Since preferred under deck ductwork is not economically feasible option for existing pools, the design team conceived of a main 52-inch-diameter fabric trunk line spanning 120 feet down the center of the natatorium. The trunk line delivers approximately 15 percent of the airflow through the fabric's natural porosity, which eliminates condensation and dust build-up. The remaining air is delivered through a linear diffuser and four 20-inch-diameter perpendicular branches that spray the windows and the spectator section with 82°F air.
Air distribution at the 80°F pool surface level now makes it easier for swimmers' to breathe. New return air grills at the pool's shallow end draw the conditioned air down from the supply duct to mix with evaporating chemicals at the pool surface and then return them to the dehumidifier.
For best air distribution and aesthetics, Richards wanted the truck line at the center of the roof's peak, however existing lighting fixtures would have been blocked by the duct. Ellerman conceived of a fixture retrofit that would allow both the truck and the lighting to hang at the center. He lowered the lighting below the truck line by extending the ceiling mounted conduit pendants into an "O" shape that encircles the duct and connects to the fixture below the duct.
Even newer facilities with state-of-the-art equipment can run into IAQ problems because they aren't maintained or adjusted properly. "I've seen facilities with new dehumidification systems bordering on Sick Pool Syndrome because they scale back on the amount of outdoor air induced to save money on utility costs," Richards said. "They've put in a great system, but they end up re-circulating stale air. They're saving a little money on the cost of heating air, but in the long run they're going to have to replace mechanical room items, lights, hardware and other items that corrode because they haven't gotten rid of the chloromines."
Richards, who was once reluctant to show recruits the inside of the natatorium in fear that the indoor air quality would discourage their interest in Dickinson, now proudly walks prospective students through the facility. Regular spectators, who previously made entrances at just the opportune time for events, now enjoy the entire swim meet experience in a comfortable atmosphere. The relative humidity stays at 50 percent and spectators and swimmers both pay more attention to the pool action than the indoor air.
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