When South Coast Improvement Company partnered with nonprofit Volunteers of America Massachusetts (VOAMASS) to expand Concord Park, a 60,000-square-foot assisted living community located in West Concord, Massachusetts, they knew they needed a solution to meet the unique needs of this HVAC replacement. The Concord Park plan called for an additional 25,000 square feet with 21 new apartments.
As part of the $17-million renovation, South Coast and VOAMASS set out to replace Concord Park’s aging HVAC system with an all-climate, all-electric heat pump system.
“The existing conventional system at Concord Park needed replacing badly,” says Matt Lane, Vice President of Real Estate Initiatives at VOAMASS.
South Coast guided the process to Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US (METUS) to make it all happen. Mitsubishi Electric’s all-climate, all-electric variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heat pump solution brought a number of benefits to the renovation, including reducing energy costs and increasing each resident’s ability to control their unit temperature – ultimately increasing resident comfort and satisfaction.
“METUS has a common sense approach,” says Henry Quinlan, President of South Coast Improvement Company. “The company’s support service and training are first class. We’re always going to recommend Mitsubishi Electric systems just because of the experience we’ve had with them.”
Why residents love VRF
Seniors want choice and independence, but the previous HVAC system within Concord Park did not enable that.
“In the old apartments when these buildings were built, they had very broad, large zones,” Quinlan says. “So, operators would dictate to the residents: ‘From May to October, you get air conditioning, and then from October to May you get heat.’ One of the things that these operators like VOA were finding was that residents wanted to have more of a homelike feel. Mitsubishi Electric’s VRF heat pump solution provides residents with personalized comfort. The technology gives residents control of the temperature within their spaces.”
VRF technology divides a building into zones, then provides each space with customized, energy efficient comfort. An all-electric VRF system provides heating and cooling by cycling refrigerant between an outdoor unit and each zone’s indoor unit. Up to 50 indoor units can connect to a single outdoor unit.
Zones have individual temperature set points based on usage, occupancy, typical solar loads and user preferences. Facility managers can empower occupants to personalize comfort in their zones while retaining the ability to optimize heating and cooling with centralized equipment control.
“VRF offers independent temperature control similar to their home, giving seniors more of a residential feel,” Quinlan says. “It’s a win all the way around.”
Why operators love VRF
Operators are happy when their residents are happy, but residents don’t always know what operators are doing to keep them happy.
Local utility rebates and federal tax incentives have helped commercial building owners modernize their spaces so they can reduce their energy use. Operators can put that money back into the building, giving residents more of what they need.
“Just for this conversion alone, because of moving to all-electric, National Grid gave us a rebate based on the scope of work and the amount of money spent, and it was significant,” Lane says. “We’re able to put that back into the building for some of our other capital items – the normal wear and tear.”
South Coast has returned to METUS for these reasons and more. VOAMASS sees the wins as well.
“It’s really been beneficial,” Lane says. “Not only are our utility costs down, but we got money back and reinvested into the property. This just positions us better for the future.”
This Views article is sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US. To learn more about how VRF can help your communities, visit mitsubishicomfort.com.
