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Virtua Center for Weight Loss Case Study

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Virtua Center for Weight Loss; Voorhees, NJ
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Case Study: Plasma Air 660 Series Solves Outside Air Limitations in Healthcare VRF Retrofit

How Virtua's Center for Weight Loss Combined Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems with Bipolar Ionization to Lower Energy Costs and Meet ASHRAE 62.1 Codes

The Situation: Space Constraints and Outdoor Air Deficits

When Tozour Trane Systems Sales Engineer Shaun Stephens met with Consulting Engineer Tom Pisarek (Pisarek Engineering) to evaluate the renovated Center for Weight Loss (CFWL) for Virtua—a non-profit healthcare system in Voorhees, New Jersey—they identified a major HVAC hurdle: the existing outside air intake infrastructure was entirely inadequate for the newly repurposed medical space.

The aging facility was originally fitted with residential-grade HVAC equipment. Structural limitations provided zero clearance for large chillers or commercial ductwork runs. Stephens and Pisarek selected a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system to fit within the restricted physical space.

“VRF units have a limited ability to process outside air; they are just not designed to handle a great deal of outside ventilation air, as required by code. This is where the Plasma Air solution comes in. What Plasma Air allows you to do is reduce the amount of outside air while maintaining acceptable indoor air quality,” explained Pisarek.

An Innovative Engineering Approach: ASHRAE 62.1 IAQP

Because high-performance mechanical filters could not fit inside compact VRF ceiling cassettes, Pisarek turned to Plasma Air needlepoint bipolar ionization.

Deploying the Plasma Air 660 Series enabled the engineering team to utilize ASHRAE Standard 62.1 Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP). By purifying circulating air at the molecular level, the system safely reduced required outdoor air (OA) intake volumes while maintaining full building code compliance and lowering utility energy expenses.

Key System Advantages for Small Commercial & Healthcare VRF Applications:

  • Footprint Compatibility: Compact ionizers install directly inside VRF ducted units and 360° round-flow ceiling cassettes without structural modifications.
  • Code-Compliant Outside Air Reduction: Safely reduces required outdoor air intake rates while satisfying ASHRAE 62.1 ventilation standards.
  • Energy Cost Savings: Decreases conditioning loads on VRF compressors during extreme summer and winter temperature peaks.
  • Low-Maintenance Operation: Operates continuously without requiring frequent media filter replacements inside space-constrained cassette units.

Technical Focus: Plasma Air PA664 VRF Ionizer

The Plasma Air PA664 is a 208/230V needlepoint bipolar ionization air purification system designed specifically for VRF air handling units and fan coils.

PA664 Product Specifications:

  • Dual Ion Production: Generates a balanced quantity of positive and negative ions to neutralize airborne pollutants in occupied breathing zones.
  • Building Automation Integration: Equipped with integrated BAS dry contacts to monitor operational status remotely via central facility control software.
  • Rapid Installation: Installs inside VRF indoor units in under 30 minutes.
  • Deployment Architecture: Installed across two 360° round-flow ceiling cassettes and eight ducted VRF air handling units throughout the Virtua facility.

Validation with Award-Winning PlasmaSoft® IAQP Software

To validate code compliance under ASHRAE 62.1, the team utilized PlasmaSoft® Indoor Air Quality Procedure software.

PlasmaSoft® performs side-by-side comparative calculations matching ASHRAE’s Ventilation Rate Method (VRM) against the IAQ Procedure (IAQP). This turnkey modeling verified that reduced outside air intake rates maintained target indoor contaminant concentrations below required health thresholds.

Results and Ongoing Operational Success

By combining VRF equipment with Plasma Air PA660 ionizers and PlasmaSoft® modeling, Stephens and Pisarek delivered a code-compliant, medical-grade HVAC solution at a fraction of the cost of traditional commercial chillers and ductwork expansion.

“In our business, no news is good news,” concluded Pisarek. “The project is completed, the new space is occupied, and all is going well. The only time we get a call is when there’s a problem, and we haven’t received any calls.”

Sources & Related Healthcare Case Studies

  1. ASHRAE Standard 62.1. Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality & IAQ Procedure Guidelines. ASHRAE Standards. Read guide.
  2. PlasmaSoft® Software. IAQP Automated Ventilation Calculation Tool. WellAir Solutions. Access software.