Carrier chiller is 5* guest

UK: Guests at five-star hotels expect the highest levels of comfort, so when London’s prestigious Royal Garden Hotel suffered an air conditioning chiller breakdown, a rapid response was essential.

With cooling capacity down to 50% during a particularly busy period, the Kensington hotel approached Carrier Rental Systems to evaluate whether a temporary solution could be provided to supply the necessary replacement cooling until the equipment could be replaced.

“We pride ourselves on providing guests with the highest levels of comfort, and air conditioning is obviously an essential element of the five-star experience,” said Tim Walker, technical services manager at the Royal Garden Hotel.

“It was a particularly busy period with full occupancy during a major international sporting event. A breakdown of one of our long-serving chillers reduced the hotel’s cooling capacity by 50% and presented us with a problem that required immediate action.”

Carrier Rental Systems recommended the temporary installation of two high performance Carrier AquaSnap air-cooled 30RB 522 chillers, with rotary scroll compressors. These provided up to 1.2MW of cooling capacity to the hotel, fully replacing lost capacity from the out-of-commission unit with some extra capacity to spare.

With micro-channel condensers and high efficiency variable condenser fans, the AquaSnap 30RB chillers operate with full load EER values of up to 10.3.

Marc White, director, Carrier Rental Systems, said: “The scroll compressor-based machines have multiple refrigerant circuits, giving excellent resilience and a high level of assurance for end users in critical applications such as hotels. We were pleased to be able to fast-track the installation to ensure full service was resumed quickly.”

The AquaSnap 30RB chillers are equipped with stand-alone controls, and can also be connected to a building’s existing BMS, enabling them to operate alongside other systems as part of a fully integrated building.

Carrier Rental Systems delivered, installed and commissioned the AquaSnap 30RB chillers over a weekend, minimising downtime and inconvenience for the hotel. Due to space constraints onsite, the temporary units were installed in the hotel’s goods delivery area.

Tim Walker said: “Although space was fairly limited in the vicinity of the chillers, the location provided a good solution. While it was close enough to connect into the hotel’s existing air conditioning system, it did not create a disturbance for guests thanks to the quiet operation of the temporary chillers.”

The hire package included all maintenance during the 10 month rental period, plus full emergency response and repair service in the event of a problem.

Tim Walker said: “The hire option provided a swift and effective solution that solved the immediate need, and gave us time to properly assess the requirements for repair or replacement of existing plant. In the end, we decided to replace the previous unit with a new Carrier machine.”