800kW Hospital Chiller with Generator
case studies
Another Project
- 1 megawatt contort cooling
- 50kw process cooling
- 60kw factory cooling
- 200kw factory cooling
- 800kw process cooling
Check On Our Linkedin Post
The Challenge
When a large NHS Trust in the North West contacted Rapid Chillers, they faced an immediate cooling failure in critical clinical areas. The facility’s primary central plant chiller — responsible for cooling two operating theatres, an intensive care unit and a dedicated oncology ward — had suffered a catastrophic compressor failure during a summer heatwave. With temperatures reaching 32°C and no backup redundancy in place, clinical areas risked forcing surgical shutdowns within hours.
The Trust’s estates team had already been in contact with their incumbent maintenance contractor, but lead times for a permanent replacement were quoted at 16 to 20 weeks — an unacceptable timeline given the patient safety implications. They needed an immediately deployable 800kW hospital chiller with generator support, operating independently of the site’s strained electrical infrastructure. The generator element was non-negotiable: the load required was too significant to draw from existing hospital supplies without risking broader power stability across the site.
The Survey
Our senior applications engineer arrived alongside a project coordinator to carry out a detailed technical assessment of the plant room, external compound and critical cooling zones. Hospital environments impose strict infection control, access, and structural constraints.
The survey identified three key considerations:
– Pipework compatibility: 200mm steel requiring bespoke flanged hose connections (6°C / 12°C)
– Distance to compound: 68m hose run with lagging and trace heating
– Generator cable routing: avoidance of clinical access corridors
Within four hours, Rapid Chillers delivered a full method statement, risk assessment and equipment schedule.
The Solution
Within 36 hours of the initial call, Rapid Chillers had mobilised a fully generator-backed 800kW chiller system to the site. The deployment comprised:
- 1 × 800kW air-cooled screw chiller (Turbocor-equipped, low-noise configuration)
- 1 × 1,000kVA diesel generator with bunded fuel tank — autonomous runtime of up to 96 hours, depending on load conditions
- 68m of pre-insulated, flanged flexible hose with lagged fittings throughout
- Automatic bypass valves and isolation points to allow seamless integration with the hospital’s BMS
- 24/7 remote telemetry monitoring — live system data fed directly to our operations desk
The 800kW generator-backed chiller system was positioned in the hospital’s external service yard, fully compliant with NHS noise limits. Our engineers worked overnight to complete pipework connections and commissioning, with clinical areas restored to target temperatures before the first operating list of the following morning.
The Rapid Chillers team understood from the first phone call that this wasn't a standard commercial job. They had engineers on-site within hours, a full proposal by lunchtime and equipment commissioned before our first surgical list the following day. The professionalism throughout was exceptional.
The Result
The system delivered uninterrupted cooling across all critical areas for the full duration of the hire — initially contracted at 14 weeks and subsequently extended to 22 weeks while the permanent replacement plant was procured, delivered and installed.
Not a single operating session was cancelled. The ICU and oncology ward maintained target temperatures throughout, even during a late-summer period with temperatures reaching 29°C. The generator provided fully autonomous power throughout, with scheduled refuelling managed by Rapid Chillers as part of the service agreement — removing any operational burden from the Trust’s estates team beyond monitoring the BMS dashboard.
Remote monitoring flagged one minor refrigerant pressure variance during week nine, which was resolved remotely by our operations team within two hours, with no on-site attendance required and no interruption to cooling output.
The result: zero downtime, zero cancelled procedures, and uninterrupted clinical continuity across all critical services.
Related Projects
Portable Air - Conditioning
This project was a challenge, we had a good power supply but no opening windows to discharge the waste heat, we needed to get creative! if we were going to help. We achieved this by installing ducting that vented directly into the air extract, the fix is crude but allowed installation of 5 of our 7.3KW portable coolers that reduced the room temperature by an impressive 11 degrees.
Bakery Chiller Breakdown
Following a call from a local site engineering manager, to advise his chiller had tripped in the summer heat we rushed to help. On site in less than 30 minutes, our sales manager got our lead engineer on the phone who talked the site's services engineer through the chiller checklist and restart. No hire service was provided but the client, realising they were vunerable asked for a chiller contingency plan to be created, so the site is better prepared to cope if there isnt a fix in the future.
NHS Hospital
The client called us after finding our website on the internet. They needed three chillers servicing, we don't offer this service but we do have a good network of air-conditioning and industrial refrigeration contractors that provide the required service. We referred the caller to a local service partner who has quoted and secured the service contract. Another example of how we're prepared to go the extra mile to aid you finding the right solution.