When it comes to commercial HVAC applications, expectations have never been greater. Building owners have a long list of expectations that go beyond simply maintaining comfortable indoor conditions.
Today’s HVAC solutions need to be packed with the latest industry leading energy efficient technology to give business owners complete control over their operational costs.
HVAC continues to be a significant investment, especially in today’s business environment where everything is measured from energy use to sustainability outcomes and greenhouse gas emissions.
To accommodate these demands air conditioning units have become more powerful while at the same time shrinking in size.
Powerful units are necessary to deal with the soaring temperatures typical of the Australian climate.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) the next five years could see the hottest temperatures on record.
Not only are these units expected to perform they need to be compact and stylish. Size became critical when Australian households moved away from the quarter acre block to multi-storey high rise living.
Units needed be compact while still maintaining an abundance of style. Aesthetics is everything in commercial environments such as hotels, restaurants and other public places.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) these demands will only increase as the global stock of air conditioners in buildings will grow to 5.6 billion by 2050, up from 1.6 billion today.
This amounts to 10 new air conditioners sold every second for the next 30 years.
Figures like this are driving air conditioning manufacturers to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market.
A recent example of a high performance climate solution that had to address a number of challenging project requirements was an award winning development undertaken by Meriton.
Known as Ocean, the 76-storey luxury development stands 252 metres high and is located on the Gold Coast, Queensland.
Meriton is a company that has designed, developed and built more than 77,000 apartments and some of the tallest residential towers across the east coast of Australia.
Ocean features 740 apartments (377 residential and 363 serviced), swimming pool, spa, fitness courtyard, retail precinct and a purpose built restaurant overlooking the beachfront.
Due to the sheer size of the building which has a floor to ceiling glass façade in a location that has sustained temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius during summer, the climate solution had to cope with large heat loads throughout the day.
Additionally, the solution had to fit with its luxurious surroundings and be almost invisible to tenants and guests. It also had to be extremely quiet during operation.
At the same time there was only a small amount of space between levels creating a design challenge for indoor unit selection.
With a mix of studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments and small plant rooms all condensing units had to be compact while still providing system flexibility.
Long pipe lengths were critical to ensure installation, commissioning and ongoing maintenance would be as easy as possible.
Ocean needed a solution that could meet these project requirements while still being a reliable and dependable solution. For Meriton this meant partnering with a trusted brand.
In recent years, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air Conditioners Australia (MHIAA) has become one of Australia’s most awarded brands. It has won Best Brand of Air Conditioner four years in a row by CHOICE.
This is in addition to winning the Most Satisfied Customer Award three years in a row by Canstar and Best Rated Split System two years in a row in the Finder Retail Awards.
MHIAA commercial account manager, Kevin Chillmaid, said lengthy discussions were held with the contractor, Superior Air Conditioning before installation.
He said a mix of products were selected to meet all of the specifications including ducted, ceiling and wall mounted systems.
“The FDU KX series slim-line ducted systems were ideal for common areas such as the lobby and hotel reception area, as well as cafes, restaurants and other retail spaces located on lower levels because they provide high airflow while also being discreet,” Chillmaid said.
“The FDU indoors feature Hi Power Mode which provides an extra boost of power to reach set temperatures quickly and Silent Mode which reduces operation noise even further, making this series perfect for commercial applications.”
Chillmaid said the FDT series of ceiling cassettes were perfect for other common areas such as the gym and back offices.
The FDT series includes an in-ceiling, four-directional indoor unit with draught prevention panel, which offers improved airflow via a high performance yet low noise fan.
“This award winning series has improved aerodynamic performance which reduces the operating noise by as much as 5dB(A),” Chillmaid said.
“In the apartments, due to their compact design, we could install the FDUT KX series indoor units within the shallow bulkheads. They were fitted with modern, discreet grilles to provide a clean and luxurious finish for all the spaces.
“These indoor units were connected in multi-format to micro KX condensers.”
The KX Micro VRF series is available in a range of capacity sizes from 9.0kW to 15.2kW and features higher energy efficiencies with COP up to 4.67 and a long total piping length of 100m.
“Due to their compact size, the KX micro series allows the plantroom footprint to be reduced, giving the building more usable floorspace for apartments,” he said.
To provide a high level of control over all these systems more than 2,000 RC-EXZ3A touch screen wired controllers were installed throughout the building for asset owners, operators and residents.
Chillmaid said a key tag interface was integrated into all serviced apartments to turn systems off when they are not occupied, providing huge energy savings for building operators.
“A big focus in building design today is the ability to combat rising energy costs,” he said.
“The end result is a magnificent, state of the art building with everyone involved proud of their contribution.”
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Soaring 76 levels above the stunning Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Meriton’s latest development, Ocean is bringing to life a new era in modern living, one where lifestyle, convenience and luxury meet.
The development includes 740 apartments (377 of these residential and 363 of these serviced) a recreation area with swimming pool, spa, fitness courtyard, and barbecue area as well as and a vibrant retail precinct, also includes a cafe and a purpose-built restaurant which will enjoy Ocean’s stunning beachfront vistas.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Air-Conditioners Australia, Pty. Ltd. (MHIAA) together with trusted contractor Superior Air-Conditioning, was able to deliver a reliable solution featuring a selection of ducted, ceiling and wall mounted systems for this award winning development.
