Project Brief

Union Beach Memorial School's classrooms were heated by aging hot water unit ventilators served by gas-fired boilers. KeRi designed their replacement across the 122,312 SF school as the MEP engineer on a design-build team, from load calculations and the 30 percent set through pricing, permit and construction.

More than 50 new Daikin classroom unit ventilators pair a DX coil with a hot water coil. The DX coils run on nine rooftop Daikin VRV heat pump systems, so the units heat and cool electrically, and the existing boiler loop stays connected as backup for the coldest weather. Each unit has an ECM motor, MERV 13 filtration and a BACnet controller tied to a central controller, and new rooftop exhaust fans, interlocked with the units, relieve the added outdoor air. KeRi laid out the refrigerant piping to every classroom, designed the 460 V power for the condensing units and the unit ventilator circuits, and documented energy code compliance. During construction KeRi reviewed the unit ventilator, VRV and controls submittals and walked every classroom for the punch lists in 2024.

MEP Engineering Scope

What We Engineered

Classroom HVAC electrification for the occupied school:

• More than 50 Daikin classroom unit ventilators with DX cooling and hot water backup heating
• Nine rooftop Daikin VRV heat pump condensing units with refrigerant piping to each classroom
• ECM motors, MERV 13 filters and BACnet controls on a central controller
• Rooftop exhaust fans interlocked with the unit ventilators
• 460 V power for the condensing units and new unit ventilator circuits
• Load calculations, energy code compliance, submittal review and punch lists

The Challenge

A school heated by boiler-fed unit ventilators needed classroom cooling and lower gas use, without rebuilding its classrooms or abandoning the heating plant it already had.

Our Solution

KeRi replaced the unit ventilators with heat pump units on VRV systems that heat and cool electrically, keeping the boiler loop as backup and adding relief exhaust and central controls.