Hydronic-Radiant Comfort, Efficiency at Chippewa Indian Healthcare Facility
KBK Services, Inc., based in Ashland, WI and with offices in Medford, WI, was tapped by the general contractor, Woodstone, Inc., to install all plumbing and mechanical systems.
KBK, begun in the 1940s, provides a wide range of plan and spec, and design-build commercial and industrial work—from backflow testing and breadth of hydronic and HVAC installation and service work to welding fabrication—while specializing in educational, hospitality and healthcare work.
“This job was well within our wheelhouse,” said Shawn Lund, KBK Services project manager. KBK Services is a full-service, non-union plumbing and HVAC contractor. “We typically work within the state of Wisconsin but have licenses in Michigan and Minnesota. We employee roughly 50 plumbers, pipefitters and sheet metal workers.”
KBK crews began their rough-in work in May of 2023, and closed out their responsibilities by Christmas ’24.
The LCO facility’s hydronic heating and cooling system is a two-pipe design, with all of the cooling, and much of the heat distribution served through fan-coil air handling units (AHUs) coupled with 4-inch to 12-inch single-duct Titus VAV boxes.
The exception is a substantial network of in-floor radiant heat installed for exterior rooms along the North wall. “Those areas are slab-on-grade, with no basement level below them,” explained Lund. “Winter months can be brutally cold in Hayward [WI], so the addition of radiant heat provides full assurance of comfort for those interior spaces event when winter is at its worst.”
Lund explained that equipment specifications for the heating and chilled water systems were made by Brunton Architects and Engineers, based in North Mankato and Minneapolis. A 186-ton Daiken chiller was chosen as the source of chilled water, serving two large air handling units and 68 area-specific terminal units. Connected to the AHUs for provision of heat are two 1500 MBH Riello boilers. Year-round comfort is achieved with hydronic flow managed by four Taco SKV Series (model 4007D) SelfSensing vertical in-line pumps connected to Danfoss VFDs.
