A large hospital in central England undertook a major initiative to upgrade its infrastructure. To ensure continuity and maintain system redundancy during the summer months of improvement works, hospital administrators engaged ICS Cool Energy to provide a reliable temporary cooling solution, enabling uninterrupted healthcare services and minimising operational risks.
Credit: ICS Cool Energy
Challenge
As part of an infrastructure upgrade programme, the hospital set out to further strengthen the resilience of its cooling system. Ordinarily, one chiller would operate while the second remained on standby, ready to maintain continuity should the primary unit require support. During the upgrade works, the facility management team needed to run both chillers simultaneously even under moderate conditions. This temporarily removed built-in redundancy and increased strain on the system.
With summer approaching and temperatures rising, the hospital required a reliable, efficient cooling system to ensure continuity across critical clinical spaces, operating theatres, wards, and communal areas. To support uninterrupted services and mitigate operational risk during the upgrade and high-demand season, administrators engaged ICS Cool Energy to provide temporary hire chillers as part of an integrated solution.
Solution
ICS Cool Energy was tasked with designing and deploying a complete temporary cooling system capable of taking over the building’s entire load, allowing the installed chillers to be safely switched off for upgrade during the summer months.
The solution centred on the installation of four 500kW chillers, delivering robust and reliable cooling capacity able to fully support the hospital’s requirements. To overcome limitations in the site’s existing power supply, particularly at the location earmarked for the equipment, ICS Cool Energy also provided two high-capacity 800kVA generators, ensuring uninterrupted operation throughout the duration of the works.
Engineers also navigated logistical complexities, including the safe routing of hundreds of metres of flexible hose from ground level up to the rooftop plant room and the placement of equipment in a confined access route, all while keeping essential hospital access clear for emergency vehicles and staff. Due to site restrictions, it was not possible to use standard crane-mounted vehicles for installation. Instead, a separate crane was employed specifically to lift all hoses and equipment onto the hospital roof, ensuring deployment could proceed swiftly and safely.
ICS Cool Energy team also undertook careful calculations to account for pressure drops throughout the extensive pipework. While the hospital’s main circulating pumps remained incorporated within the setup, additional measures were taken to sustain optimal flow and pressure across the temporary installation. Four 4-inch pumps were fitted on the suction line, complemented by an inverter-driven 4-inch pump on the delivery side. This configuration ensured that water circulated efficiently, maintaining stable cooling performance in all areas of the building at all times.
Results
By installing a robust and reliable temporary cooling solution, ICS Cool Energy enabled the facilities management team to confidently maintain correct temperatures throughout even the hottest summer months.
The complete delivery and installation process was managed efficiently by ICS Cool Energy’s project managers, resulting in a clean and orderly site with no disruption to hospital operations, patients, staff, or visitors. The hospital benefited from reassurance and continuity, with clinical environments well protected amid the challenges of seasonal heat and ongoing infrastructure works.
For more information on ICS Cool Energy and its complete range of process temperature control solutions, please visit www.icscoolenergy.com.