Legacy Companies, Inc
Challenge:
Legacy Companies, Inc., is the Twin Cities' leader in commercial mechanical contracting and has been the service contractor for HOM Furniture for the last few decades. When HOM Furniture was interested in boosting their energy efficiency and came across the 75F product line, Legacy was the go-to contractor to install the system.
Although installing controls was a new experience for Legacy, they found the 75F wireless, pre-programmed solution saved time compared to other building automation systems, was easy to install, and the process quickly became seamless.
Solution:
Legacy installed new control units, economizer controls, and 75F® Outside Air Optimization™ across HOM Furniture's Plymouth and Lakeville, MN locations. HOM Lakeville was their first experience with 75F, explains Kris Petrie, Legacy HVAC Service Technician, but it didn't take long to become familiar with the installation process. By the time they reached the second HOM Furniture location in Plymouth, Kris was able to install the entire system in 4-5 hours per unit by himself.
"One of the things I liked about 75F was that I didn’t have to run a communication wire to every single component," Kris explains. "I didn’t have to crawl into the ceiling all over the entire building to connect everything. It was a few short wire runs connecting individual components for power. It all communicates wirelessly."
75F equipment communicates over a 900 MHZ mesh network, ensuring that the building automation system is reliable and secure. The system requires less wiring and components come pre-programmed. Once the 75F® Central Control Unit™ is turned on and connected to the wifi, all installers need to do is input the building address, and the system handles the rest.
"It’s already ready to go," Kris explains. "Everything is already programmed in."
Whenever Legacy ran into questions, 75F field technicians were there to help with phone calls, remote diagnostics and site visits – even just to bounce ideas off regarding the most efficient way to set things up. "Once I learned how the system operated, I didn't have any problems," Kris said. "But support was really fast."
"75F is not just controlling, it’s collecting all the data and providing you with feedback on what the entire unit is doing. HOM Furniture was looking for improved energy efficiency and they’re showing a lot of energy savings there. They’re getting exactly what they wanted."
Results:
Facilisight, 75F's user portal, makes it even easier for mechanical contractors by allowing remote monitoring and control. Remote diagnostics make it easy to keep an eye on equipment performance and diagnose issues – cutting back on site visits, guest interference, and wasted time. HOM Furniture's Real Estate Manager, John Pierce, mentioned being able to shut down a unit from his phone on the weekend from his kitchen counter, due to a mechanical issue. This allowed him to schedule a repair truck to roll for Monday morning, a great value add for facility managers with one or multiple sites.
The 75F system gathers significantly more data than from a typical HVAC system, as well as insights on the real-time health of each component. "I think it comes down to what your customer wants – do they want 'good enough', or are they looking for the full report?" Kris said. "75F is not just controlling, it’s collecting all the data and providing you with feedback on what the entire unit is doing. HOM Furniture was looking for improved energy efficiency and they’re showing a lot of energy savings there. They’re getting exactly what they wanted."
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