Primera is pleased to announce that two of our projects were honored with 2016 Excellence in Engineering Awards by the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The annual awards program recognizes outstanding engineering work by Illinois Chapter members based on six criteria: energy efficiency, indoor air quality, innovation, operation & maintenance, cost effectiveness and environmental impact.

Among this year’s 16 honorees were Primera’s Chicago Animal Care & Control project as well as the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County Energy Efficiency Upgrades project. Primera’s engineering achievements were recognized at the Chapter’s annual holiday party and awards reception held at the Metropolitan Club of Chicago.

The Lee Animal Care & Control Facility houses over 500 animals, many of which have been taken from the streets to give proper care, in separate kennels. Primera was contracted to perform a comprehensive study and assessment of the existing HVAC system, which investigated the filtering, ventilation, and existing pneumatic controls for each air handler. Based on the results of the study, Primera designed the upgrade of a majority of the mechanical and temperature controls systems to improve the air quality and comfort in the building while also providing clean, odorless, and uncontaminated air into each of the individual kennels. Primera’s innovative Energy Efficiency design involved Energy Recovery Wheels, Dynamic V8 Electronic Filters, Aircuity Optinet System, and Chillers. The living conditions for the animals are greatly improved with the implementation of the new HVAC system.

John G. Stroger, Jr. Hospital is the flagship facility of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. The hospital has over 450 beds, nearly 100 outpatient clinics and a Level 1 Trauma Center. For this project, Primera was contracted by Johnson Controls to design a heat recovery system to capture the maximum amount of available waste heat from the Stroger campus steam boiler plant flue gases and return that heat to campus systems. The recovered heat is used to increase condensate return loop temperature, preheat city makeup water to boiler plant, and preheat domestic hot water. The new system captures not only sensible but also latent heat of the boiler flue gas. The implementation of this high-efficiency, condensing heat recovery system improves boiler efficiency and provides the Hospital with significant energy savings, reducing its overall impact on the environment.

“We pride ourselves on providing our customers with an unparalleled combination of exceptional technical expertise and superior client service, so it’s a special honor to be recognized by ASHRAE for two of the year’s most innovative engineering projects,” explains Ken Panucci, Primera’s Senior Vice President and Buildings Division Manager. “I’m incredibly proud of our team for their work on these projects,” he added.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.