A project of caring - for the people and the planet
The nearly 30-year-old GOLD air handling unit was refurbished and is now smarter than ever. The fact that the refurbishment was completed in just one day was greatly appreciated.
Comfort and care in two buildings
Johannispark care centre is situated in a 10,000 m2 park in the centre of Suhl, Germany. The operating company was founded in 1996 by five dedicated carers with the goal of creating a modern care home, focusing on the residents' comfort and employees' work environment.
At Johannispark, Gudrun Vestner serves as the managing partner and home director of the two buildings on site. One is a traditional building from 1901, while the other is a more modern structure equipped with ventilation technology from 1997/98. Residents live comfortably here on four floors in 43 single and 19 double rooms. They are well cared for and, as it should be, are provided with plenty of fresh air.
A longterm partnership
At Swegon, we have been involved with Johannispark since the beginning of its construction in the 1990s. During the planning stage, it was of great importance to ensure that both functional areas and residents' rooms were adequately ventilated. A GOLD-series air handling unit (AHU) was provided, which has reliably supplied fresh air since 1998. However, after nearly three decades of continuous operation, it was time to consider a modernisation.
Understanding both how durable our AHUs are, and how technical installations impact a building's embodied carbon footprint, we decided a few years ago to develop a "modernisation package" for our ventilation units. The result is our Refurb kit that enables continued, and a most likely, more energy-efficient operation of older GOLD units.
An exchange of components and upgrade of controls
The GOLD RX unit at Johannispark was nearly 30 years old when a modernisation need was recognised. Instead of opting for a time-consuming and costly replacement of the entire air handling unit, and because the Refurb kit could solve the identified issues, it turned out to be the ideal solution in this case. The fans were exchanged, and the fan motor controls as well as the control system was upgraded.
More about GOLD and the Refurb kit
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The above components and controls were tailored to the specific unit at Johannispark and they were replaced without dismantling the entire unit. The best part? Two AHU specialists completed the work in one single day, without disrupting care home's daily operation - greatly appreciated by the Johannispark management.
The result is a smoothly operating solution with state-of-the-art control functions and an easier use, benefitting not only the technical department but the people inside as well as the planet. As told in the film, this upgrade has paved the way for a significantly more energy-efficient operation going forward.
With Swegon, it is easy to get things doneGudrun Vestner, Managing Partner and Director at Johannispark care home in Suhl, Germany
The many benefits of a refurbishment
In this film, Gudrun Vestner, Managing Partner and Director at Johannispark care home in Suhl, Germany, explains today's issue - an inoperable GOLD air handling unit, and Mike Pinkert, Swegon, describes how the Refurb kit was born. Mike also summarises the many benefits of renovating an AHU instead of replacing it with a new one.
Several advantages in one Refurb kit
Some of the advantages of choosing a refurbishment kit when an older GOLD air handling unit needs modernisation have already been mentioned, such as a quick and non-disruptive installation as well as the possible future energy-savings. But there are further benefits: an extended service live of approximately 15 years, a new 2-year warranty on exchanged components, spare parts availability for at least 10 years, no need for conversion work around the AHU and a minimal embodied carbon footprint.