County commissioners met with President of MG Energy Group Dave Metzger and Richland County Maintenance Supervisor Chuck Minnich Thursday to hear four different replacement proposals regarding the heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) system of the Richland County Longview Center, located at 1495 West Longview Ave.
The current 18-year-old HVAC system at the Longview Center is rated as terminally ill. According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the life expectancy of the Longview’s HVAC system is marked at 15 years, three years less than the system’s current age. Thus, the compressors are failing and leaks are occurring in the evaporator coils and condensing coils.
Further, the bitter cold weather this winter put a strain on the system, so much so that employees had to be sent home because the system couldn’t warm the building above 60 degrees.
The four possible replacement HVAC systems the commissioners considered include:
1. Variable Air Volume (VAV) Rooftop Units with hot water reheat; projected cost $595,900.
2. Geothermal; projected cost $836,970
3. Variable Refrigerant Flow; projected cost $638,450
4. Gas Fired Rooftops with Variable Valve Timing (VVT); projected cost $498,800
Among the listed options, Metzger and Minnich recommended VAV Rooftop Units with hot water reheat (option number one) to replace the current system.
Metzger noted that the first option has 95 percent efficient boilers.
Options two and three “are darn near ripping everything out and starting from scratch,” said Metzger. While options one and four “are trying to reutilize all of the duct work that we are going to use on the roof,” Metzger stated.
And between options one and four, “It’s a matter of comfort other than operation…With the first one, everybody gets heating or cooling simultaneously whenever they want,” added Metzger.
Commissioner Ed Olson estimated that the total cost for the project (if pursuing option number one) would total to about $660,000. The commissioners currently have about $400,000 of borrowed monies to be used for the renovation project.
Metzger said that he would like to start taking bids for the project June 1, with construction of the rooftop units starting in the fall.
