FORT SMITH, AR – Beverly Enterprises, a leading provider of post-acute health care in the United States and operator of 536 skilled nursing centers, recently enlisted the Trane Company to help in its design of an hvac system for its corporate headquarters. Indoor air quality (IAQ) was the company’s top priority.

The company felt strongly about creating a “warm and interesting work environment.”

John Hodoway, senior mechanical designer from the Cromwell engineering firm, who were involved in the design process said, “We looked at a variety of options to meet the owner’s need for a system that would provide year-round comfort, operating economy, and a high level of reliability.”

Beverly Enterprises decided to install a central chilled water plant with centrifugal chillers, air handlers, variable-air-volume (VAV) distribution using fan-powered boxes, and a building automation system that provides intelligent control and monitoring for the entire hvac system. They selected the Integrated Comfort¿(ICS) from Trane.

Hodoway added that Beverly Enterprises, because of their experience in the health care field, placed a “high priority on IAQ.” The air distribution system features two air handlers on every floor and one at each end of the building, for a total of twenty air handlers.

Beverly’s facilities manager Jack Dunn concluded, “It was exciting to be involved in facilities that would not only meet, but would exceed IAQ standards. We asked for and got a system that would constantly bathe the building with clean, filtered air.”