Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange College

Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange campus renovations and new construction were completed for the Spirituality Building, the College Building, and a kitchen facility serving 60 sisters living at the Regina Residence. The College Building originally served as a place where the sisters could pursue a college education; today it houses the University of San Francisco’s satellite campus.

Integral Group is providing full mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design services for the renovation project and new construction. This includes a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system for the College Building, which is not only energy efficient but also low maintenance and low cost. The VRF system provides heating and cooling to the building by varying the flow of refrigerant fluid to match user demands within individual rooms or areas. The VRF system can save energy by intelligently transferring heat between adjacent zones instead of just exhausting it.

Further energy-saving design strategies include a central air handler unit (AHU) with a high energy efficiency ratio (EER). A high EER value means that the AHU requires less electricity to cool the building—providing crucial cost savings and energy savings in the hot Southern California climate.