Project Brief

Nelson Biological Laboratories stands at 604 Allison Road on the Busch Campus and is one of the main biology buildings at Rutgers, holding the Division of Life Sciences office, the Department of Genetics and animal facilities that operate under Rutgers Comparative Medicine Resources.

KeRi was engaged as prime professional under the university's on-call consultant contract to upgrade the humidification serving the animal laboratory space in the D wing, designing to the Rutgers University Design Standards. Animal holding rooms are held to a humidity range as well as a temperature range, and the humidifiers on the wing's four air handling units had been out of service for a long time, sitting where they could not be reached to be repaired.

KeRi surveyed the wing, ran load calculations to size replacements, and designed new duct mounted steam humidifiers in serviceable positions, one for the area served by each air handler. The existing steam generator and its distribution were verified and reused, the affected ductwork was replaced in stainless steel, and a humidity sensor per unit was added with DDC controls to run them. The survey also led to replacing the condensate pump and adding a drain pan above the motor control center.

MEP Engineering Scope

What We Engineered

Humidification upgrade for the animal laboratory wing:

• Survey of the wing and HVAC load calculations to size the replacement humidifiers
• New duct mounted steam humidifiers, one per air handling unit, relocated to accessible positions
• Existing steam generator and distribution piping verified for capacity and reused
• Stainless steel supply ductwork at the humidifiers, with a duct mounted humidity sensor per unit
• DDC control modifications and electrical power for the new humidifiers
• Condensate pump replaced in kind, and a drain pan added above the motor control center

Systems by Discipline

The Challenge

The humidifiers serving four air handling units in an animal laboratory wing had been out of service for a long time, and they had been installed where no one could reach them to work on them. Animal holding rooms are held to a humidity range, and the design had to meet the Rutgers University Design Standards.

Our Solution

KeRi surveyed the wing, sized replacement humidifiers from load calculations, and placed the new duct mounted steam units where they can be serviced, one for each air handler. The existing steam generator and distribution were verified and kept, the affected ductwork was replaced in stainless steel, a humidity sensor was added per unit and the DDC controls were modified to run them. The survey also picked up two maintenance risks, an aging condensate pump and an unprotected motor control center, both addressed in the same package.