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This report originally appeared in the September 2009 issue of DOTmed Business News

The chiller industry as a whole has been floundering for a while now, but that's mainly because the demand for industrial chillers and those used for the computer tech and automobile sectors has dropped along with their industries. However, there is one area where chiller sales are still doing well - the medical chiller sector.

"For us, from September last year we just had a steep drop-off in sales [as a company] and then in January we started seeing sales return. We're not where we were last year, but we have orders on the book," says Chris King, Vice President for KR Products Inc. "With all the baby boomers coming along, we need more and more medical equipment so it has stayed steady for us."




Although they may not be the first thing that hospitals think about when setting up shop, hospital equipment such as MRIs, CT Scans and X-rays won't function unless they have a chiller. So as long as OEMs continue to turn out equipment, there will be a market for chillers.

"The medical chiller market tends to mirror the major diagnostic equipment market, so right now, business is fairly steady," says Bob Freudenberger, VP of Ellis & Watts.

Basically, a chiller is like an air conditioner. Since most major medical devices generate heat while in operation, the chilled water generated by the chillers is the solution to dissipate the heat that is produced. The difference is you are removing heat from the fluid and not the air.

"Each chiller provides a defined flow rate and temperature drop specification," says Freudenberger. "Some have optional city water bypass valve systems to allow operation of the medical equipment, even during a time of service or failure of the chiller system."

Industry experts estimate a price range for new chillers to be in the $8,000 to $50,000 range, and the pricing depends on the size, modality and the assortment of add-ons a chiller can have.

Challenges Abound

Despite a steady market in medical chillers, there are still difficult circumstances the industry has been dealing with over the past year.

Martin King, President of Legacy Chillers, calls a recent phenomenon, "the new normal." "A lot of decision makers can't see what business will be like in six to eight months," King says. "And we are finding out about projects very close to when they are needed, instead of a year ahead of time."

Freudenberger has seen lesser chillers brought to market, which he feels is hurting the industry.

"The influx of lower priced, foreign built chillers has eroded the overall reliability of chillers, as a whole," he says. "With today's tighter budgets, it is more difficult to sell quality-built products."

Working with the OEMs

Regardless of the OEM, they each have special applications for the large-scale image equipment that needs to be kept cool.

"We have gone through working with major manufacturers, taking care of their specific needs for temperature flows, and customizing a market just for them," says Kim Bernard, Sales Application Engineer for Dimplex Thermal Solutions (DTS), which manufactures chillers under the Koolant Koolers and Schreiber Chillers brands. "As long-time suppliers for medical OEMs such as GE, Philips and Siemens, our experience provides deep insight into medical OEM requirements."




For every brand of medical equipment, a specific chiller is needed as they all have their own thermal profile and accessories that can impact the amount of heat that needs to be dealt with. Chiller manufacturers therefore must have the proper specs for each.

"With most of the major MRI OEMs-Philips, GE, Hitachi-we already have pre-designed for those applications so we can move pretty quickly when we need to," Legacy's King says. "For manufacturers, being very nimble in this market is the only way to survive."

It was only about one year ago that Toshiba would package chillers in with their sales, but they decided to get out of the chiller business. A company like GE is still packaging a chiller for their MRI as part of the sale, but savvy customers are starting to price shop.

"They are buying the equipment but are shopping around for the chiller applications, because they realize they can get a better deal," says King. "It's a trend we are seeing in the market because money is tight out there."

Bells and Whistles

While almost all chillers have a condensing unit, recirculation pump, reservoir, temperature controller and pressure gauge as standard features, add-ons can include things such as a remote temperature sensor or remote start/stop and temperature alarm.

"Our philosophy is to keep as many bells and whistles off as we can," says Chris King. "Take a doctor's office. You can give him a chiller that shows him all the fault lights-no water flow, high pressure limit switches, over temperature-and it's fine if he sees a blinking light, but what's he going to do about it? They can make it more difficult to work on because you may know what the problem is but then you have to work on the electrical level or get special parts."

Problem Solving

Chillers are not immune to problems, although a great number can be prevented with a proper preventative maintenance program.

"The chiller has motors in it and every motor no matter what it's on has a given life expectancy and the pumps, compressors and fans can wear out after a specified amount of time. You need to be aware of those expectancies and offer maintenance programs letting them know they are approaching that time," Bernard says. "So before the breakdown, we will schedule a replacement so there are no emergencies."

One of the most common problems is customers who are not using the proper freeze protection as the chillers will freeze up from ambient temperature.

"What most people don't understand about chillers is that they can freeze water on themselves," Chris King says. "A lot of people ignore that freeze protection -something malfunctions or water goes off-and they can be ruined."




Another problem associated with chillers is contamination of the heat transfer solution with tap water, which can cause internal choking of the heat exchanger coils. Other problems include refrigerants running low, filters getting clogged, dust and dirt build-up and pumps breaking down.

"If you have no water treatment you can get bacteria and it can clog the MRI's heat exchanger system," Bernard says. "You need proper filtering and water treatment. We recommend a twice a year plan where one of our techs comes out and goes through from top to bottom all the parameters, checking that all electrical fittings are still tight. Those are key and critical to ensure top performance."

Legacy's King adds that upwards of 90% of the problems you will have with a chiller has to do with the commissioning.

"What we see is that a chiller will get installed but the installer doesn't properly commission it to meet a customer's requirements," he says. "An example would be adding freeze protection. A lot of chillers have to have glycol. It requires a specific set-up and for those contractors that don't know, it can be problematic."

DTS ensures that a medical facility will never be at risk of extended shutdown or equipment damage as their chillers are fail-safe for continuous use.

"We have custom designed redundancies in the system where there are two independent refrigeration systems so if there is one in need of repair, the other is still operating," Bernard says. "The same thing happens with the fluid delivery and the pumps. If one goes out, the other immediately takes over."

But customers don't need to rely exclusively on a company's PM program. They can personally do a number of things to help ensure the life of a chiller. Preventative maintenance starts with becoming educated about the equipment and its immediate surroundings.

For example, in areas with a high pollen count, it's important to clean out the air filters in the machine and vacuum or wash them and make sure airflow isn't being impeded. If you are not able to draw air across your condenser coil, pressure in your refrigerator system will go up and trip the system. This will cause the fan to work harder causing it to most likely burn out.

Refurbishments offer Economic Solutions

While the equipment the chillers are attached to may be refurbished, the market for refurbished chillers has not been a huge business in years past. That is changing though, as more companies are trying to help the customer who is looking to save some money.

"It is possible to use refurbished chillers," offers Tommy Geske, CEO/Owner of SMTI. "You need to have the correct specs for the system. If you don't match the chiller correctly, the MRI will not function properly."

"A true refurbishment should replace all coils, compressors, valves and any corroded wiring and electrical controls," Freudenberger says. "The refurbished chiller should be tested to its original specifications."

Although Tek-Temp doesn't sell refurbished systems per se, they have been making greater efforts to take those they have sold to inspect and repair them before sending them back to the customers who own them.

"It goes through a full evaluation and test in our test bay to find out what needs to be replaced," says David Greenplate, Sales Manager for the company. "Is it a whole condensing unit? Or maybe smaller components like a pump or temperature control? Things like that we look for when we inspect. We'll take care of any problem."

Because of the economy, the company has seen more people interested in repairing and refurbishing their chillers, rather than going out to buy new.

Richard Lee of Total Imaging Concepts also realized that people were interested in cheaper chiller solutions and started selling pre-owned chillers after cleaning them up and making sure they worked.

"We are finding that chillers have long life in them. We don't do any refurbishing, we find those in good shape and put them back on the market," Lee says. "We have seen a lot of chillers on sites for 10 to 12 years and when hospitals upgrade, we find we can still use them. I would say 40% of the chillers we come across are in good shape."

When dealing with any used or refurbished chiller company, customers should be smart enough to ask if the chiller was refurbished by its original manufacturer, what components were replaced with new and who stands behind the refurbishment warranty.

Environmental Impact

The average MRI unit requires a 30-gallon per minute flow of water, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, all of which translates to a total of 15.7 million gallons used per year. The same flow rate is required even when the unit is at rest, between patient scans. That's why a chiller solution is so valuable.

"Not only is this a large use of natural resources, but at an average of $5 per 1,000 gallon water and sewer fee, the operating costs to the facility would be $75,000 a year," says Bernard. "We call attention to this because in most instances this cost is accounted for as simply overhead-a cost of doing business, much like a light bill or waste removal fee. However, it's powerful information for the department manager that needs to justify a capital expenditure, since the customer can see a return on their investment in approximately four months, saving the facility upwards of $50,000 a year, while helping the environment."

Using a dedicated chiller also saves on a facility's investment in the piece of medical equipment by eliminating the scale build-up that occurs with the mineral deposits and impurities found within city-water supplies.

"It is also advantageous over a central fluid cooling system in that the fluid is dedicated only to that piece of equipment, thus its temperature and flow settings are never ruled by other equipment's combined needs, allowing the medical equipment to be used full-time without the concern that over-temp alarms or low flow faults shutdowns of that machine, if the full cooling needs are not always available," Bernard says. "This too ensures that fluid impurities are not carried between multiple pieces of hospital equipment, which may have negligible effect on some pieces, while deeply impacting the operation of another."

Medical chillers can be nearly as important as the equipment they are cooling and when taken care of properly, can help a medical facility keep its financial cool through revenue from machines running at top capacity for a long period of time.

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DOTmed Registered Chillers Equipment Sales & Service Companies
Names in boldface are Premium Listings.

Domestic
Richard Lee, Total Imaging Concepts, Inc., LA
Kim Bernard, Dimplex Thermal Solutions, MI
Chris King, KR Products, Inc., MO
Dan Rogowski, Parker Domnick Hunter, NC
Akram Abdelaal, Express Systems & Parts Network, OH
DOTmed 100
Bob Freudenberger, Ellis & Watts, OH
David Greenplate, Tek-Temp Instruments, Inc., PA
Lenny Place, Aramark/CTS, TX
John Crownover, Laser Scientific, TX
DOTmed Certified
Tommy Geske, Sunrise Medical Technology, Inc., TX
DOTmed Certified

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