by Rebecca Walker — August 8, 2008—New McQuay modular central plants are pre-engineered and pre-assembled for simplified onsite installation, says the company. The factory-assembled units cost less per ton to build, compared to traditional site-built plants, while the energy-efficient design helps reduce operating costs. Competitive installed and operating costs make McQuay modular central plants ideal for new construction and expansion projects where fast-track completion schedules or minimal interruption to cooling are priorities, McQuay says.
“Modular systems are normally associated with existing facilities that need additional cooling in a hurry,” said Terry Young, general manager of Solutions, McQuay. “However, these units are built so efficiently, cost-effectively and of such high quality that they rival traditional site-built systems for performance.”
The modular central plant combines a McQuay water-cooled chiller with pumps, cooling tower and interconnected piping. Chiller models are screw, scroll, centrifugal or magnetic bearing compressor, depending on requirements. The cooling tower includes a VFD as standard for optimized performance. Options include redundant water pumps, redundant cooling towers, a waterside economizer, a boiler module and a chilled water secondary pump module.
Single-source OEM supply helps reduce site assembly and commissioning time, while factory fabrication and assembly help increase reliability. High-quality construction features galvanized finish on all structural steel and condenser water piping. The chillers use HFC-134a refrigerant, which has no ozone depletion potential or phase-out schedule. McQuay modular central plants are available in a wide selection of sizes, from 100 to 600 tons, allowing factory fabricated central plants up to 2400 tons. The spacious interior provides easy access to the control panel and other interior components. The complete module is factory ETL listed.
McQuay International delivers engineered, flexible solutions for commercial, industrial and institutional HVAC requirements with reliable products, knowledgeable applications expertise and responsive support. For more information, see the Web site.
