Public Safety Facility

Restoring Reliable IT Cooling in a Newly Remodeled Public Safety Facility

As part of a $34 million renovation project, the Frederick Police Department transformed a 67,000-square-foot building into a modern four-story headquarters designed to support public safety operations for years to come.

Reliable network infrastructure is essential in law enforcement environments, supporting communications systems, security infrastructure, records access, and other mission-critical technologies that enable officers and staff to serve the community.

During the original building design, dedicated cooling was specified for the main distribution frame (MDF) room on the 3rd floor using a traditional split system. However, the intermediate distribution frame (IDF) rooms located on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th floors were designed to rely solely on conditioned building air.

Following occupancy, facility operators discovered that the building HVAC system could not adequately manage the heat generated by the IT equipment within the IDF rooms. Temperatures rose during daytime operation, while cooling capacity became even more limited during nights, weekends, and winter months when the building transitioned to heating mode.

A dedicated cooling solution was needed to protect critical network infrastructure and maintain reliable operation throughout the facility.

Cooling Demand Exceeded Design Expectations

Although the building had undergone a comprehensive renovation, the heat load generated within the IDF rooms exceeded original engineering assumptions. As network equipment expanded, the existing HVAC system struggled to maintain acceptable temperatures.

Small Telecom Rooms with Limited Space

The IDF rooms are compact environments containing multiple equipment racks, leaving little room for traditional cooling equipment or extensive mechanical modifications.

Cost and Complexity of Mini-Split Installation

Hardesty (installation contractor) evaluated a conventional mini-split air conditioning system as a potential solution. However, installation presented significant challenges, including:

• Long refrigerant line-set runs
• Coring through structural floors and exterior building elements
• Rooftop condenser installation
• Running electrical power to rooftop equipment
• Sealing roof penetrations and weatherproofing
• Coordination among multiple trades

Collectively, these requirements substantially increased project cost and complexity

Maintaining Building Operations

As an active public safety facility, any cooling upgrade needed to minimize disruption while providing long-term reliability for mission-critical infrastructure.