Lochinvar® Scores a Hat-Trick with Third Install at ESPN Headquarters

Case Studies

by Lochinvar Marketing Department | 09/27/2013

Following successful installations of Lochinvar’s SYNC® and KNIGHT® XL Boilers at ESPN’s Connecticut headquarters, a new opportunity for high-efficiency commercial boilers arose with the retrofit of the company’s Digital Center. This time, it was the CREST® Condensing Boiler that was selected for the job. CREST is Lochinvar’s latest and largest addition to its condensing boiler family, offering models up to 5 million Btu/hr and thermal efficiencies as high as 99 percent. 

“The Digital Center is a key facility in ESPN’s broadcast operations,” notes Steve Darr, P.E., a project engineer at global engineering firm HLW, which did the design work on the Digital Center retrofit. “They have a lot of plus-one systems that have the capacity to do more and have additional capacity on standby. The systems are always at 100%. That presents concerns about energy use.”

For the Digital Center job, Darr selected three 3.5 million Btu/hr CREST Boilers from Lochinvar (FBN3500). One of the features that led Darr to choose CREST for the job was the built-in cascading sequencer offered with its SMART TOUCH control. The SMART TOUCH operating system made installation and setup an easy process. Darr worked with Eric Montas and Greg Sinay of FIA, Inc., Lochinvar's New England manufacturers’ representative, and the installing contractor for support as needed.

The new CREST boilers provide great flexibility for the facility. “They are very efficient and can operate at a wide range of temperatures,” Darr says. “They definitely have operating advantages. There are times throughout the year when the water delivery temperature will be low, and they can take advantage of the condensing feature. And even when they are running at hotter temperatures such as 180° F water, they will still have a higher efficiency than a standard boiler.”