AquaForce chiller install is London landmark

UK: The first European installation of Carrier’s new 30XAV 950 AquaForce chiller has been carried out at two new prestigious offices in the heart of London.

Six of the latest 30XAV 950 Aquaforce chillers, which were launched earlier this year, have been installed at the landmark project at 1 and 2 New Ludgate. 

The chiller employs inverter-driven screw compressors controlled by Carrier’s proprietary Greenspeed intelligence technology to maximise their performance.

Carrier worked closely with the client, consultant and contractor SRW engineering services, to design and build a solution to meet stringent efficiency and noise requirements for the new Land Securities buildings.

The speculative development of 1 & 2 New Ludgate, EC4, comprises two distinct buildings united by a new public piazza. Together they comprise over 32,000m² of office accommodation and 2,800m² of restaurant and retail facilities.

The six Carrier AquaForce chillers were installed alongside three updated Carrier RBM 520 and three Carrier 30RBM 420 AquaSnap chillers with scroll compressors.

Carrier experts overcame a number of site-specific challenges, including a strict noise specification due to the premium nature of the development and its close proximity to residential apartments.

Carrier designed and built a custom package to totally enclose the chillers, further reducing the low noise performance of the new AquaForce chiller. This was tested in Carrier’s laboratory at Montluel near Lyon, France, to ensure it met the client’s requirements.

The original design proposed locating the water-cooled chillers in the basement. However, as a result of the compact footprint of the AquaForce chiller, Carrier presented an alternative design that accommodated the chillers on the roof, making basement space available for alternative uses.

The project included a bespoke pump, control and chiller sequencing package.

“The software was programmed in-house and designed to maximise energy efficiency and air conditioning performance, as well as extend the working life of chillers by careful run-time sequencing,” said Danny Lear, specification and solutions manager, Carrier UK. “We were able to carry out full witness testing of working chillers at Carrier’s facility in France, ensuring the solution fully met the specification.”

Following installation, Carrier’s service team will ensure the chillers are maintained at peak performance under a full maintenance contract.

Lee Pegram, project lead at Land Securities, revealed that the development had an equally challenging building services brief. “We worked closely with Carrier throughout the process to ensure a successful result,” he said. “It provides a compelling example of the effectiveness of teamwork and partnership approach in action.”

Andy Farmer, who led delivery of the SRW engineering services contract, said: “Carrier Air Conditioning were advocates of the collaborative approach. They were keen to understand how they could adapt their chillers and software to meet the client’s needs and deliver an even better result. Carrier worked with other contractors to deliver a solution that exceeded expectations by minimising noise levels.”