Hospital, Campus & Commercial HVAC Summit

The problem: The six-building, 500,000 sq ft civic campus ran on 1960s-era HVAC at the end of its life, and the related utility costs were over $1M a year.

Published result: Two Daikin Magnitude magnetic-bearing chillers in a remodeled central cooling plant and new Skyline air handlers: campus electric demand trimmed by over 1.2 MW thus far, energy cost savings estimated at 50% of the base-year energy cost, and HVAC maintenance costs reduced by $75,000 (estimated; as reported by Daikin Applied, 2022).

Invited: Daikin Applied and the City of Dearborn · Read the published case

The problem: Aging infrastructure made it hard for the 25-bed rural hospital to keep up comfort and reliability, and it had limited resources to modernize.

Published result: A new 220-ton chiller, four ice tanks and Tracer SC+ controls, plus roof-mounted solar, under an energy savings performance contract: annual guaranteed energy savings exceeding $76,000, and more than $2 million in combined incentives ($1.6 million from the Inflation Reduction Act, $111,000 from Ameren Illinois and $406,000 through Illinois Shines solar renewable energy credits) that covered more than half of the total project cost (guaranteed savings; as reported by Trane).

Invited: Trane and Sparta Community Hospital · Read the published case

The problem: Roof leaks threatened one of the largest public genealogy collections in the US, and the aging basement chillers were hard to reach for service that was needed more and more often.

Published result: New air-cooled rooftop chillers tied into the library's existing 20-year-old ice bank, done together with a new roof and solar: on pace to save approximately $74,000 per year in utility costs (estimated), with 106,000 sq ft of insulation reused, more than $500,000 in insulation replacement costs avoided and more than 83 dumpsters of material kept out of the landfill; the library stayed open throughout (as reported by Trane).

Invited: Trane and Allen County Public Library · Read the published case

The problem: Elliott Hall (1825) and Stoddard Hall, both on the National Register of Historic Places, ran on coal-fired steam heat and a two-pipe fan coil system that could heat or cool but not both at once, and the university wanted lower energy costs without touching the buildings' character.

Published result: A Mitsubishi Electric CITY MULTI water-source heat recovery VRF system (three PQRY condensing units, 38 indoor units) on 17 geothermal wells 600 feet deep under the sidewalks, completed August 2011: the two halls' metered annual energy use fell from 740,000 kBTU/h in fiscal 2010-2011 to 346,000 kBTU/h, a 61% decrease (units as printed; as reported by Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US).

Invited: Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US and Miami University · Read the published case

The problem: Comfort problems, aging HVAC, poor lighting and rising energy costs, while district funds were tied up in new construction for a growing county.

Published result: New geothermal HVAC systems, district-wide LED lighting and solar on 12 school facilities under a performance-based guaranteed energy savings project: more than $280,000 a year in energy costs and 900 metric tons of CO2 a year (projected; as reported by Trane).

Invited: Trane and Hardin County Schools · Read the published case

The problem: The charter school's board wanted to convert an abandoned, neglected former nursing facility into a learning and enrichment space.

Published result: A Carrier VRF system with heat recovery outdoor units, inverter-controlled compressors and a range of indoor fan coils: estimated to reduce energy usage from the original base system by 31.9% (estimated, not measured; as reported by Carrier via ACHR News, September 2021).

Invited: Carrier and Albert Einstein Academy · Read the published case

The problem: The $1.6 billion Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs in Philadelphia, opened October 30, 2021, needed its 6,250-ton central chilled water plant optimized for patient comfort, energy savings and long-term plant efficiency.

Published result: Armstrong Design Envelope 4300 Vertical In-Line pumps and Armstrong's opti-visor plant optimization working through Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure building management system: an annual average plant efficiency of 0.5 kW/ton, 7,855,428 kWh of energy savings and $629,554 saved over four years, with monthly and quarterly plant performance reviews ongoing (as reported by Armstrong Fluid Technology, January 2026).

Invited: Armstrong Fluid Technology, with Schneider Electric and Penn Medicine · Read the published case

The problem: Tribe members in Hayward had declining access to healthcare, and two aging facilities on the reservation had to be replaced by one 75,000 sq ft health center built for more than 77,400 patient visits a year.

Published result: Four Taco SKV SelfSensing vertical in-line pumps with ProBalance on Danfoss drives move hydronic flow from a 186-ton chiller and two 1,500 MBH boilers to 68 terminal units, with mechanical rough-in from May 2023 to December 2024 and the drives pre-programmed to match pump speed to demand; no energy savings figure is published, and the facility is sized to double the number of patients served annually (as reported by Contractor magazine, April 2025).

Invited: Taco Comfort Solutions and Danfoss, with the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe · Read the published case

The problem: Horizontal split case pumps installed in 2016 for the Milwaukee hospital's hot water heating system kept losing seals, were rebuilt multiple times and needed a gantry just to lift the casing in a tight mechanical room.

Published result: A Bell & Gossett VSX vertical split case pump replaced the horizontal units: about 40 percent less floor space, bearings and seals replaceable without removing the rotating assembly, reduced expected downtime for service and a two-person job turned into a one-person task; no energy or dollar figure is published (as reported by Xylem).

Invited: Xylem (Bell & Gossett) and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center · Read the published case

The problem: A venue with more than 500 events a year, from local events to nearly 400,000 guests during Derby week, needed better visibility into building performance and reliable comfort.

Published result: A 2020 controls upgrade, equipment upgrades and Trane Intelligent Services (continuous monitoring, analytics and remote support, with onsite technicians during Derby week): more than $2M in energy savings since 2020, energy costs tracking nearly 20% below forecast (approximately $500,000 a year), more than $100,000 in utility rebates and nearly 4,800 metric tons of CO2 avoided (as reported by Trane).

Invited: Trane and Churchill Downs · Read the published case

The problem: Rising energy use, higher maintenance costs and aging equipment across hospitals, a cancer center, medical offices and an emergency center that run 24/7.

Published result: A multi-year program of chiller plant integrations, ice storage (4,500 ton-hours at Norton Audubon Hospital), new air-cooled chillers, lighting, envelope and building management upgrades, with Trane Intelligent Services data reviewed together on a regular basis: utility expenses lowered by $8.3M and total energy use cut by 846M kBTU in the past six years (as reported by Trane).

Invited: Trane and Norton Healthcare · Read the published case

The problem: The 610-bed, 80-building academic medical campus needed lower energy costs, more reliable building systems and guaranteed outcomes from a partner integrated into day-to-day operations.

Published result: Johnson Controls, on the campus since 1968, runs OpenBlue Enterprise Manager analytics and connected chillers monitored 24/7 from a Remote Operations Center: annual energy savings from plant optimization of 4.2 gigawatt hours, about $300,000 a year in electricity costs and more than 1.4 million gallons of water a year, 7 million pounds of CO2 avoided in the optimized chiller system's first year, and eight major energy projects in 10 years including a $416,000 electric utility incentive (as reported by Johnson Controls).

Invited: Johnson Controls and Penn State Health · Read the published case