1. Walt Dubois, PE and CHFM St. Joseph’s Hospital Phoenix, Arizona
Improving Patient Comfort and Saving Energy with Noninvasive Retrofit using the Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat
Walt Dubois, PE and CHFM
St. Joseph’s Hospital
Phoenix, Arizona

2. St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona
Founded in 1895 by Sisters of Mercy, first hospital in Phoenix
673-bed hospital, largest in Arizona
Part of Catholic Healthcare West
Many legacy systems from several building phases spanning 60 years

3. Operating a facility in Phoenix is challenging
Average of 89 days per year over 100˚ with several days reaching 118˚
Cooling is paramount objective of operations activities
Optimizing HVAC equipment is essential to balance patient comfort with fiduciary responsibility to manage costs
Equipment is run to the limit…
When operating in the desert

4. Shortcomings of existing pneumatic thermostat
Patient comfort is negatively impacted
Problems persist without diagnostic information or remote control
Energy is wasted since mechanical problems go unnoticed and DDC energy efficiency strategies cannot be executed
Maintenance costs are high
Hot/cold calls create ‘fires’ to fight
Troubleshooting takes significant time without diagnostic information
Typical Pneumatic Thermostats

5. Experience with pneumatic to DDC retrofits
St. Joseph’s retrofitted pneumatics to DDC every year until 2008
Installed over $500,000 worth of DDC retrofits
Project financing stopped due to economic downturn
Retrofitting to DDC in occupied floors was slow, difficult and expensive
Required significant disruption to patient rooms
Labor costs, room utilization, infection control all drove up costs
Hospital operations are disrupted by…
Invasive DDC retrofit

6. Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat (WPT) presented practical alternative to DDC
The WPT provides the benefits of DDC without the cost, disruption or invasiveness
Noninvasive retrofit means no need for infection control and no disruption to patients
The WPT provides:
Remote monitoring and control
Auto calibration
Diagnostic information
Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat
DDC
WPT
Cost
$80,000
$15,000
Project time
Weeks to Months
Days
Disruption
Significant
Minimal

7. Ensuring the WPT was reliable for hospital environment before full deployment
Reliability of new technology:
Conducted two week trial of WPT to verify performance
Drastically improved temperature control compared to legacy pneumatic thermostats
Overall capabilities, communications and network performance proved reliable
Wireless approval:
Radio Frequency Officer and Biomedical Engineering Manager reviewed and approved wireless system
The WPT causes no wireless interference with hospital equipment

8. Installation of the WPT was fast and easy—it was even installed in occupied patient rooms
The WPT was installed in under 10 minutes per thermostat
The wireless network was set up in about 10 minutes per thermostat
WPT was installed with patients in the room (when feasible)
Hospital HVAC staff completed installation in difficult-to-access rooms as they came available, usually between patients
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Identify thermostat type
Remove thermostat and backplate
Install WPT backplate to wall
Attach pneumatic pipes to WPT
Attach, calibrate and address WPT

9. Benefits of Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat
Patients and nurses have better control of temperatures
Mechanical problems addressed before patients/nurses notice
Faster response to requests from patients and nurses
Improved Patient Comfort
Temperature setpoint policy enforced
Temperature reset between patients
Auto-calibration
Energy Reduction
Temperature adjustments made remotely
Fewer hot/cold calls
Less time spent troubleshooting
No calibration
Maintenance
Savings

10. Future of Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat at St. Joseph’s
The WPT has been identified as a key energy saving initiative
Immediate plans to install WPT in administrative buildings (which can take advantage of additional features like scheduling)
Eventually integrate WPTs with building automation system to employ additional energy saving strategies