Airedale International - Experts & Thought Leaders

When Harry Lau, Administrator for Facilities and Operations for the Livonia Public Schools, joined the district in 2013, he identified a significant need to improve the HVAC equipment throughout the entire school system. All 25 buildings, including schools and administration offices, had significant inefficiencies with their HVAC systems. The infrastructure was outdated and the horizontal unit ventilators that were in use were from the 1950s and 60s and were well beyond their life expectancy. The old units were prone to freezing, and there were control issues that further exacerbated the problem. Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) and inefficient temperature controls led to discomfort among staff and students, impacting the overall learning environment. His primary goal was to reduce the number of environmental air quality concerns, reduce district utility and maintenance costs, and improve the overall comfort and air quality throughout the system. The Solution To address these issues, Livonia Public Schools secured funds via a successful bond measure To address these issues, Livonia Public Schools secured funds through a successful bond measure. There were multiple contractors and manufacturers involved for the entire system upgrade, but for the classrooms specifically, the district chose to upgrade to Airedale by Modine Classmate® vertical units. Looking at the specifications of these units, Harry was certain the Classmate® would meet their needs.  The previous units had structural and design issues that led to multiple repairs, and Harry knew that they would have fewer maintenance issues with the Classmate® because of the way they are designed. They also chose to modernize control of the system by implementing a building management system allowing for real-time monitoring and centralized management of the HVAC systems across all buildings. The Results The HVAC system upgrades have resulted in dramatic improvements in IAQ and energy efficiency. The new systems have provided better temperature control, faster cooling, and heating, and have reduced energy consumption by 20%. The upgraded systems also led to a quieter environment, enhancing the learning experience. The ability to monitor and manage the HVAC systems in real time has allowed for proactive maintenance and further cost savings. Harry said he wanted the classroom instructors to have some anonymity with temperature control. While the set points follow ASHRAE recommendations, the units are equipped to give the teachers some control to bump the temperature up or down a few degrees to suit their comfort level and those of the students.  "With partners like Modine, they opened our eyes on ways of doing things," said Harry Lau, adding "It has been refreshing to actually be heard by the professionals." Implementation of HVAC upgrades Livonia Public Schools has been recognized by the U.S. DOE’s Efficient and Healthy Schools Program Because of their commitment to improving IAQ and energy efficiency, Livonia Public Schools has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Efficient and Healthy Schools Program. This program recognizes and assists school districts seeking to implement high-impact indoor air quality and efficiency improvements. They were honored for optimizing their operations to improve building performance. The district was also recognized by the city as a green energy partner. Harry said that the classroom learning environments have been dramatically updated and they have seen a significant improvement. The consistent modulation of the fresh air has been greatly noticed. Livonia Public Schools’ proactive approach to HVAC upgrades A huge point of pride for the district was being able to confidently inform their staff and parents that they were ahead of the curve in ensuring quality indoor air once students and staff were able to return to indoor classroom learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Livonia Public Schools’ proactive approach and successful implementation of HVAC upgrades have set a benchmark for other districts aiming to improve their learning environments through better air quality and energy efficiency.

Modine, a diversified global pioneer in innovative thermal management and ventilation solutions, announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Scott Springfield Manufacturing, a pioneering manufacturer of air handling units (AHU). With this transaction, Modine will gain immediate access to a highly complementary product portfolio and a blue-chip customer base in several strategic end markets, including hyperscale and colocation data centers, telecommunications, healthcare, and aerospace. air handling unit capabilities “We are excited to welcome the Scott Springfield team to the Modine family and continue to advance our complete suite of products in the data center area, as well as expand our indoor air quality offerings,” said Neil D. Brinker, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Modine, adding “The acquisition is right in line with our transformation and will bring Modine a product line and customer base in high-growth markets that fully complement and expand our current reach, including to hyperscale data center operators." Neil D. Brinker continues,"Further, the addition of custom air handling unit capabilities demonstrates our continued commitment to focus on innovative, engineered solutions that help us achieve our long-term growth targets. Coming on the heels of our acquisition of Napps Technology last year and the purchase of liquid immersion cooling assets last month, Modine is in a very strong position to provide customers a full range of technology solutions in critical cooling and ventilation applications.” Range of commercial and industrial applications The company employs approximately 500 people at two manufacturing facilities in Calgary Based in Calgary, Canada, Scott Springfield Manufacturing is known for premier design and engineering expertise in the manufacture of AHUs for a broad range of commercial and industrial applications. The company employs approximately 500 people at two manufacturing facilities in Calgary that serve different end markets. The facility producing AHUs for blue-chip hyperscale and colocation data center customers is equipped with automated manufacturing equipment and is optimized for higher-volume production.  Specially engineered AHUs The other facility manufactures custom-built AHUs chiefly for the healthcare sector. Specially engineered AHUs are imperative in meeting the stringent HVAC, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency requirements of hospitals, clean rooms, and laboratories. With the purchase, Modine will also gain a sales representative network in the indoor air quality market covering additional areas in the U.S. and Canada, creating cross-selling opportunities for Modine’s existing chiller portfolio. Acquisition of Scott Springfield “Technology solutions that address real-world concerns – such as delivering healthy environments for people and stable environments for the IT infrastructure that supports our digital lifestyles – are more important than ever,” said Eric McGinnis, President - Climate Solutions, Modine. Eric McGinnis adds, “Modine’s data center and IAQ businesses deliver these world-class HVAC solutions to markets where efficient and effective thermal management and ventilation are vital. The acquisition of Scott Springfield will expand our portfolio and manufacturing footprint, enabling us to meet a complete range of client needs in our targeted data center and IAQ markets, positioning us as a one-stop shop for mission-critical HVAC solutions.” First calendar quarter of 2024 Scott Springfield Manufacturing expects to report final revenue for their fiscal 2023 of more than $100 million (USD). Total consideration for the transaction is based on an enterprise value of approximately $190 million (USD) and is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2024. The transaction will be financed through a combination of cash and debt and consideration will be paid in Canadian dollars. Management expects this acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings and anticipates generating incremental growth and future cost savings through the deployment of Modine’s 80/20 operating model. Barclays served as an advisor to Modine for the transaction, and Angle Advisors served as an advisor to Scott Springfield Manufacturing.

Airedale by Modine, the critical cooling specialists, announces the completion of delivery of their largest ever bespoke free cooling chillers, each measuring a significant 22 meters long (73 feet), and housing 36 fans. The vast order, for an undisclosed data center operator, is believed to be one of the largest single, colocation orders taken by Airedale in their 50-year history. It consists of 21 of the super-sized chillers, 2 free cooling DeltaChill chillers (16 fan), 72 AireWall units, 12 SmartCool ONE chilled water downflow units and crucially, for achieving the ultimate in system efficiencies, the Cooling System Optimiser and an on-site building management system (BMS), offering an over-arching, automated optimization control package. Integral harmonic filtration The data center company has partnered with Airedale as part of their drive to meet its stringent sustainability objectives as they seek to employ the highest efficiency technologies on their 30MW campus. Working closely with their client, Airedale’s data center solutions engineering team has designed a larger derivative of their DeltaChill R32 free-cooling chiller, to deliver maximum efficiency to meet on-site cooling demands. The units all feature integral harmonic filtration, to increase quality, reliability and energy efficiency Alongside the 36 high efficiency EC fans are 17 scroll compressors, selected due to their ability to deliver concurrent free cooling, maximizing partial and full free cooling availability. The 16 fan variants offer all the same efficiencies. Acoustic packages have been applied to all chillers to ensure stringent noise constraints are met on site. The units all feature integral harmonic filtration, to increase quality, reliability and energy efficiency, by reducing loss in electrical components and deliver indirect energy savings. On such a large scale, these mitigations deliver tangible savings over the course of a year. Advanced system operations One of the key differentiators for Airedale is their ability to deliver a complete cooling solution, comprising not only high efficiency, free cooling chillers, but also the computer room air handlers (CRAHs), controls packages and on-site project management and installation teams. This “One Airedale” approach allows for the units to work as a system, increasing the opportunities for marginal gains and system efficiencies. Airedale Controls are renowned for their advanced system operations. The cooling system optimizer and on site BMS works to deliver a fully automated system at both product and system level, delivering optimal performance in response to conditions at a detail and speed beyond that which a human operator could respond to. Likewise, the control system’s ability to recognize patterns and identify potential issues before they occur adds an extra layer of redundancy to an already robust operation. Expert engineering assistance Airedale’s unique, UK-wide team of 65 service and maintenance engineers is available 24/7 Airedale has a dedicated on-site management resource team that co-ordinate the project from start to finish, considering the timing, installation and commissioning of the product. Beyond product installation, Airedale’s unique, UK-wide team of 65 service and maintenance engineers is available 24/7, meaning clients can rest assured that should a system issue occur, expert engineering assistance is available. Adam Yarrington, Business Unit Director for Data Centers at Airedale said, “Delivering efficiencies that meet sustainability objectives and help us reduce the impact of mechanical cooling on our planet, is something we care deeply about at Airedale and is something we have continually strived to do, since before legislations around this were introduced.” Delivering meaningful efficiencies Adam continued, “Working on a project of this complexity is really exciting for Airedale, as it allows us to demonstrate the scale of our capabilities, deliver meaningful efficiencies and push our technology to deliver more, which is absolutely achievable when taking a whole system approach.” Adam concluded, “We cannot disclose more detail about this detail due to the sensitive nature of the work our client delivers, but we are delighted to have been able to partner with them on this project.”