Installation of VRF Equipment – Head Office London
BRIEF
Our client, a private international healthcare group, approached us to help solve a problem they were experiencing with their air conditioning system on the top two executive floors of their head office in central London.
Their current system, which was 20 years old, provided cooling in the form of two large chillers. Unfortunately, these existing chillers did not have enough capacity to cope with the increasing demands of the building, and as a result the heating and cooling of the office space was not effective.
One of the key elements to this project was the lack of space available for a new system. The plant room on the roof was nearly full, leaving very limited space available for any additional units.
In addition, the existing system used grills that were built into an existing low-level bulk-head on the wall. Our proposal had to incorporate the use of these existing grills.
OUR SOLUTION
Having studied the design requirements, our solution was to propose the installation of two heat recovery VRF systems (including 54 indoor units and 4 condensing units), that would not only provide sufficient heating and cooling for the office space but would also fit into the available plant space on the roof.
CHALLENGES
Throughout the duration of this project, we were faced with a number of issues, which we needed to overcome in order to bring it to a successful completion.
To solve the problem of using the existing grills, we designed new ductwork transaction pieces between the fan coil and the existing grill and expertly sourced a special thin black acoustic foam from Germany to line the ductwork transaction piece to reduce air flow noise.
As we were working on the executive floors at the head office of an international company, we wanted to ensure that the client’s business was caused the minimum disruption possible. We therefore arranged for all the work to be completed either at night or during the weekends over a period of three months.
The client had specified that they did not want any ‘hot works’ (braising) to take place on the premises for health and safety reasons. To satisfy this requirement, we used in excess of 1000 Lokring compression fittings to connect the pipework and when braising was essential, it was completed off site.
An additional problem we were faced with was the issue of access, as we had to get four condensing units onto the plant roof and unfortunately, it was deemed too difficult to get a crane into position next to the building. We therefore decided to strip the condensing units down and lift them through the building in sections. This not only involved the partial removal of the plant room floor but also using a lifting beam to move the condensing units into the plant area. The units were then able to be reassembled on the roof and placed into position.
SUCCESS
The technical expertise and problem solving skills of our team were paramount in bringing this project to a successful completion within the time frame specified by our client. We were also delighted to be able to offer a 7 year Toshiba warranty on the equipment installed.