Provide a single-phase unit solution to accommodate a range of demanding conditions
Opened over 50 years ago and affectionately called “The Farm,” Purina’s Equine Research Group has bred, raised, and studied horses to help develop a wide range of horse feeds. As research animals, their development and the conditions surrounding their development are crucial for accurate formulations. One important piece of training equipment is the equine treadmill. Realizing they needed more capacity than their current HVAC system provided, the team reached out for our expertise.
The demands of providing the turndown required for conditioning the space when unoccupied combined with enough capacity to condition a 1000-pound animal running at full tilt with spectators was challenging. Even more so when considering the need to passively control humidity with precise discharge temperature of space dew point control. And by the way, it needs to be single phase.
Extensive collaboration, manufacturer expertise, and one 9 Ton rooftop unit system
They were the horse experts, and we were the HVAC whisperers. Collectively, we learned the exacting requirements for the animals and problem-solved various solutions to efficiently meet their needs. Knowing the only available power at the job site was a single phase, our sales engineer team recommended the specific combination of an AAON 9 Ton single phase packaged rooftop unit, on grade with AAON controls, operating as a single-zone variable air volume control (SZVAV).
OUR WORK INCLUDED
- Provide (1) AAON RN-011 unit to throttle capacity from 0.9 to 9 tons, while delivering a constant 55F discharge air temperature to maintain space humidity levels
- Provide (1) AAON single-zone variable air volume control to seamless accommodate the demands of a fan ramping between 30-100%, thus giving the unit enough control to prevent overcooling
RESULTS
The HVAC upgrade provided a comfortable spectator environment within an atmosphere more conducive to running the horses harder, which yielded better data.