Cool Designs Ltd & Fujitsu have provided a significant air conditioning upgrade for a major manufacturer in Derbyshire, pledged to reduce its operational emissions to net-zero by 2030.
In addition to finding a solution to replace fossil fuel energy sources, the customer also required an increase in cooling capacity for a series of air handling units that serve a manufacturing cell.
The system provides climate control to an area where the temperature-critical manufacturing of precision mechanical components takes place. The machinery is cooled by process chilled water circuits. The existing AHU system heated the air passing through with a series of steam heat exchangers linked to natural gas boilers. The cooling element was provided by 160kW of DX, split over four stages of cooling, but with inefficient direct online compressors and operating on R407C refrigerant.
With space at a premium, the reduced footprint of Fujitsu’s equipment came into its own. A modular set-up of four V-III Heat pump VRF units (930mm(w) x 765mm(d)), each with 56kW cooling and 63kW heating capacity, was used for the first AHU. Three standalone J-IVS heat pump Mini VRF units (930mm x 370mm), each with 14kW heating and cooling capacity, were used for the second AHU.
Refurbishment of the existing third-party AHUs resulted in four stages of cooling/heating for the first, with each stage designed to provide 50kW capacity in either mode. The second AHU has three stages of cooling/heating, with each stage providing 12kW.
Electronic expansion valves and control kits provide control to each heat exchanger within the AHU. The kits, available to serve individual heat exchangers from 5-50kW, are capable of operating in heating mode with supply air of -7ºC without supplementary heating.
A touchscreen local controller is installed for each system for setup and future service visits. A BACnet Gateway connects the Fujitsu equipment to an existing building management system (BMS), which was reconfigured to accommodate the multi-stage cooling and heating of the new installation.
The system was designed and delivered as part of a turn-key solution by Modern Project Services (UK) and the equipment supplied by CDL.