Rhode Island Hospital

Boiler Chiller Expansion Project

Project Overview

Arden upgraded Rhode Island Hospital’s existing boiler and chiller plants to replace aging systems and accommodate the additional load of the new vestory Bridge Building trauma center. The mechanical room location required work at the epicenter of the Hospital with sensitive operations adjacent on all sides. Since the boiler plant generated the majority of the Hospital’s power and could never be shut down, the team worked in carefully planned phases to install the new 235-foot tall double wall steel stack with new breechings. A 500 ton hydraulic crane was used to place two new 750-ton chillers and the 7,000-GPM cooling tower over existing buildings and atop the existing Plant. Crane picks were scheduled over weekends to ensure minimal disruption to the hospital operating rooms located directly below.

Value Delivered

Installation of new Boiler and Chiller Plant Systems have generated considerable efficiency gains for the Hospital, including utilization of surplus low pressure steam from the turbine generation plant which would have otherwise gone unused.