Domestic Water Pump Cost Analysis;

ModernControls recently completed a proposal to upgrade a failing domestic water pump system for a Wilmington High-rise. The existing system has a primary pump with a hydraulic fluid mechanically operated unloader system to relieve pressure during periods of low or no demand. The motor however runs continuously. The backup emergency use only pump has a hand valve that is set to bypass water from supply to return to maintain water pressure. Neither assembly is very efficient and so both run near rated amp draw.

Our research began with the initial visit to the site to gather information. The second trip to the site was more clearly defined with the help of the product representative’s knowledge and experience with the product line.  We initially planned to install a pump package but found the physical constraints within the mechanical room too restrictive. We put the equipment package together with the product representative supplying the pump and us supplying the rest. A third visit to the site was not necessary to complete the proposal, however a third visit is planned to meet with the board members to explain the proposed equipment and how the replacement work would be scheduled to eliminate down time.

The pump manufactures representative found a 5 horse power pump that could provide the same results as the 7.5 horse power pump so we’re able to provide an initial cost savings by reducing the horse power by ⅓. The installation of a Johnson Controls variable speed drive and Metasys digital controls brings the projected cost savings to somewhere between 60% and 75%. The projected payback period for the installation is between 5 and 6 years, not bad for a necessary upgrade. With the focus today on green technology the availability of information to project cost savings gets better all the time. The projected cost savings calculation sheet used for this analysis accounted for the change in peak demand after the first year since this customer electric bill is based on a peak demand rate. If you’re wondering how much you could save by making changes, chances are someone already came up with a way to quantify it.

Preventive Maintenance Contracts;

Modern Controls offers customized Preventive Maintenance and Full Service Contracts for all your HVAC mechanical equipment and controls. Indisputably, Modern has the strongest service team throughout the Tri State Region. Modern has a fleet of over 40 technicians on the road, and has been providing HVAC Services for over 20 years.

 Most of the technicians have over 10 years of direct commercial and industrial experience. The technicians have a broad range of skills to meet your every need. We have technicians specialized in working on chillers, boilers, cooling towers, package rooftops, you name it.

Do any of these sound familiar?

 a system that has leaked and ruined the ceiling tiles

 an area that is always hotter or colder than the rest of the building
 a system that never seems to shut off
 no preventive maintenance is getting done to avert a crisis
 a system that never works right and is always breaking down
 a system that has multiple repair calls for the same problem
 waiting for days just to get a repair technician on site
 getting a technician that doesn’t have the ability to fix the problem
 receiving billing that doesn’t make sense or is late
 reminding your service group to perform the preventive maintenance

Modern Controls is prepared to handle all these issues and to provide you with the professional service that you deserve at a very reasonable price. We will tackle your toughest problems with confidence and create solutions.

Call or E-mail today to set up your FREE HVAC SYSTEM SURVEY for a Preventive Maintenance Agreement.

lmatthews@moderncontrols.com

The Master Plan;

I’ve been fortunate enough to get involved with several long term master plans for several types of buildings and businesses. The experience is eye opening to someone who has made a career of repairing and replacing things. To have customers with the level of trust needed to open the budget up to you and still allow you to be part of the bid process is ego boosting. We don’t always get the work or even the opportunity to value engineer the project. We do however seem to stay involved with the project to make it successful. That part can keep your ego in check. You can’t always be everything to everyone, there has to be some tradeoffs.

At ModernControls it’s never been about how to compete on price, it’s always been about a fair price for doing the job right. When we work with someone to develop a master plan we see things from their perspective. Sometimes they need the lowest price because they have a need to fill and financial constraints. Other times they need to make sure everything goes as planned before, during, and after a project. That’s when we provide the best value. You can’t expect people to change their work habits. We employ quality people and sell quality work; we shouldn’t expect less of our employees because the budget doesn’t allow it.

I’ve learned through the development of master plans and long term budgets that the right fit can be the lowest price. Allowing our customers to make the best decisions based on their place in the market will help them to experience continued growth. An open, honest, forward thinking relationship between the customer and the service provider can eliminate hard feelings or guilt that can damage a relationship. Our customers don’t tell us how to run our business and we shouldn’t tell them how to run theirs. They tell us how we can do better and that’s what they expect from us. It’s not always easy to adhere to this thinking but it’s the best way to maintain long healthy relationships. That’s what ModernControls is all about, long healthy relationships.

Outdoor Air Cost Analysis;

ModernControls was asked to quantify the cost of excess outdoor air to justify the cost to rebalance an existing building. The units in question were classroom unit ventilators. When considering them individually they seemed too small to have a significant cost associated with the outdoor air alone. When you put 50 of them together it’s a different story. In this case the units average 1500 cfm each and the calculated cost for treating the outdoor air is about $ 4,500.00 a year if they’re at 10%. The calculated cost if the average outdoor air is 15% (closer to actual) came up to $ 7,500.00 a year. At 20 minutes per unit to have a certified air balancer spend 2 days to set the outdoor air the payback is a little over 6 months. When building the spreadsheet we added a line to factor in the cost of the outdoor air based on the number of hours in the occupied mode. In this example we were able to show that by reducing the occupied period from 9 hours to 8 hours (actual occupancy for the classrooms was 7 hours) we could drop the cost another $ 1,000.00 a year for a new calculated total of $ 3,500.00 to treat the outdoor air. Estimating a half day for a programmer to make the changes to the schedules the payback period would be less than a 6 months.

Communication is Key;

ModernControls is now hovering around 50 employees and we're covering from King Of Prussia, PA to Pocomoke, Md. For those who aren't familiar with those places it's basically covering from south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to south of Ocean City, Maryland. Another thing that surprises our customers is the full range of mechanical and building services that we offer. It’s not a matter 50 people who know everything; it’s about 50 people who communicate well and on a regular basis. Support doesn’t end with what we do for the customer at ModernControls it extends to everyone. Learning to rely on others has helped us as individuals realize how important it is for us to be there when we’re needed. Hopefully this site can make the transfer of knowledge and experience the best in the industry. Please feel free to communicate with us at the link here or on any of the links in our web site. Thank you.