People are more concerned than ever about how hospitals can best manage their capacity in this era of unprecedented demand. Many hospital systems are finding it far harder to maintain their operations, working at full capacity with limited equipment and supplies.
Budgets and building systems alike are feeling the strain. Every penny spent on logistics and infrastructure diverts potential funds away from frontline care. With that in mind, administrators are looking for new and more efficient ways to harness their resources.
One of the most important ways to do that is by optimizing cooling and refrigeration.
Effective Cooling and Refrigeration Systems Are Essential in Modern Hospitals
In the care environment, comfort is only one of the factors that demands excellence in cooling and refrigeration technology. Thermal regulation can minimize heat stress and improve sleep quality. Space cooling and ventilation take up the most energy.
Comparatively speaking, refrigeration of medical products requires only a fraction.
Maintaining cooler ambient temperatures has a number of positive effects:
- Reduction of bacteria growth, as some forms of bacteria thrive in warm environments
- Preventing incidental contamination of surfaces by controlling condensation build-up
- Improving overall employee efficiency in an environment where motion is a constant
The operating room is one of the coldest parts of any hospital, requiring temperatures in a range of 65° to 69° with humidity of 70% or less. This helps combat hospital-acquired infections of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, one of the major risk factors to patients in a healthcare setting.
ASHRAE provides various other environmental standards for the critical care setting, all of which require the operation of a reliable cooling system with 99.9% up-time. There are few other environments where temperature management is quite as critical to human safety.
Industrial-scale refrigeration is essential in hospitals as well. Many medications must be kept within a very specific range of temperatures. Treatments may have a low tolerance for variance and spoil quickly if the refrigeration system does not perform reliably.
Vaccines, serum, blood, tissues, and organs for transplant all depend on the best refrigeration that money can buy. With that in mind, hospital leaders must make the appropriate investments to maintain the compressors at the heart of their refrigeration systems.
Remanufactured Compressors Can Save Hospitals Thousands in Replacement Costs
In a major institution such as a hospital, a compressor is often near the bottom of a long list of competing priorities. However, all refrigeration and cooling systems rely on commercial compressors – and they do not last forever.
In fact, many hospitals no doubt have compressors that are nearing the end of their service life or have already exceeded the manufacturer’s published guidelines.
Older commercial compressor designs often operate for about ten years. Newer ones can be maintained for up to 20 years. The length of time a compressor can safely remain in service depends on many factors:
- The design of the original unit – whether it is hermetic, semi-hermetic, and so on
- The operating environment the compressor is used in and the demands placed on it
- Contaminants such as dust and debris and mechanical factors like vibration levels
Of the issues that affect compressor longevity, maintenance is the largest for most situations. However, it is also crucial to take the right steps when a compressor shows signs of performance degradation and needs to be replaced.
In these situations, a remanufactured commercial compressor is efficient and cost-effective. We have seen that the Trane CHHN060T and CHHP0N2 have been the most sought after commercial refrigeration compressor models.
A remanufactured compressor is one that has been painstakingly restored to meet the original equipment manufacturer’s specifications. This should include complete disassembly, replacement of components with OEM components, and full cleaning and repainting.
Done right, this process saves thousands compared to the cost of an all-new commercial compressor.
Remanufactured Compressors Offer 30%-40% Cost Savings
An independently remanufactured commercial compressor typically offers 30%-40% off when compared to an equivalent brand name compressor purchased from a wholesaler associated with the OEM. These wholesalers charge a premium for their “new” compressor units despite the fact that virtually all service replacement compressors are remanufactured, regardless of seller.
Truly “100% brand new” OEM compressors, if available, are rarely suitable for service replacement in a hospital setting. In addition to their extremely high cost, turnaround time can be anywhere from four to eight weeks before the new unit arrives and is ready for installation.
Independent compressor remanufactures performed by a trusted third-party vendor ensures you are getting a unit that meets all OEM specifications and contains no worn out parts. Performance standards and longevity of these compressors are what you would expect from a new unit.
A hospital’s compressor procurement process must draw a hard distinction between these truly remanufactured units and merely rebuilt units. Rebuilt units can be offered at low cost because they typically use salvaged parts from scrap compressor cores. These units do not offer the reliability needed in a critical care setting, while remanufactured compressors do. It is for this reason that hospitals are turning to affordable, reliable commercial compressor solutions for their infrastructure needs.
To find out if we have the right commercial compressor for your hospital, contact us today.
