Case Studies
Water-cooled VRV perfect solution for Richmond office refurbishment
A landmark 1980s ‘head office’ building in Richmond, London, has been given a new lease of life – and a fresh long-term tenant – after a £5 million refurbishment that included installation of Daikin VRV-W water- cooled air conditioning.
The 33,000 square foot four-storey building at 63 Kew Road – former UK headquarters of Pepsi Cola – is now home to the leading online marketplace for creative small businesses notonthehighstreet.com, which has taken a 10-year lease.
Owned by Low Carbon Workplace, the building has been substantially upgraded to raise its Energy Performance Certificate rating from E to B and to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating. The improved ratings also meet the London Borough of Richmond’s target for a 40% reduction in carbon emissions.
Low Carbon Workplace is a a partnership, launched in 2010, between the Carbon Trust, fund manager Columbia Threadneedle Investments and property developer Stanhope.
The partnership acquires commercial office buildings and refurbishes them into modern, energy efficient workplaces.
In selecting the Kew Road building’s new heating and cooling system, noise criteria and line-of-sight constraints ruled out chillers and air-cooled VRV outdoor units. Water-cooled VRV, on the other hand, could be contained – out of sight and earshot – in a plant room.
VRV-W also offered the efficiency advantage of two-stage heat recovery - within each system and between systems on the water loop. This two-stage recovery substantially improves overall energy efficiency especially in situations where cooling is required even in winter.
Heat recovery was an obvious choice for a building with different aspects developing variable conditions that required simultaneous heating and cooling. The original design was also based on a Cat A selection process to ensure the system would have maximum fl exibility to accommodate the requirements of any future tenants.
There is a flexible and energy efficient control strategy to attain both the EPC and BREEAM scores required by Low Carbon Workplace. The strategy includes PIR movement sensors linked to Daikin RTD interfaces to provide the control inputs for one or more FCUs to optimise conditions when people are present, but to drift from the set point after no response from the PIR, and eventually switch off.
To allow for Individual control, one branch selector box is provided per FCU. The 20% tempered fresh air delivered to the FCUs is controlled by dampers and CO2 sensors, which further enhances efficiency. There are no local controllers, with the system controlled centrally by Daikin Intelligent Touch Managers – facilitating sub-metering of the building if it is subsequently let to multiple tenants. The system gives individual tenants the facility to control their environment through web-based access to the ITMs.
Sheffield - based Daikin D1+ Premium Partner Airmaster installed six systems totalling 13 condensers, which generate the total heating and cooling requirement for all floors and an air curtain in the lobby. Another four condensers serve the building’s two air handling units, which supply tempered air at 18oC to the rear of fan coil units (FCUs) throughout the building. The building’s total calculated load is 427kW (peak instantaneous: 348kW).
Two low-height, low-noise Guntner adiabatic dry air coolers reject heat from the water loop to the roof. A 546kW boiler generates hot water for the building and heat injection to the water loop to maintain a fixed 40oC flow to the Daikin VRV-W condensers during cold weather.
To fit the boiler and condensers into the plant room, the condensers were located using racking, one above the other. This satisfied the requirements for heating and cooling plant without compromising design – or the lettable floor area.
All FCUs are of the FXDQ type – slim concealed ceiling units, which can be mounted in ceiling voids as small as 240mm.
These medium external static pressure units can be used with flexible ducts of varying lengths. They are specially developed for small or well-insulated rooms such as hotel bedrooms and small offices – and so are ideal for ensuring future flexibility of the office layout at 63 Kew Road.
To download a PDF of this case study please click here.
Pharmaceutical / Health
Airmaster have completed the full design and build mechanical install of specialist laboratory systems for a pharmaceuticals company in the health sector.
The install compromised of:
Flexible LEV extraction arms in the laboratories.
Dedicated plastic fume extraction systems to the fume cupboards up to roof level duty/assist centrifugal fans and purge stack.
All this controlled via an Easylab VAV damper system to keep the pressures in balance when the environment changes.
Magnehelic Gauges were installed at each entrance to show the pressure reading of the room, each with its own specific requirement.
The general ventilation was supplied via packaged Air Handling Units with LTHW frost coil via an Air Source Heat Pump and DX heating/cooling coils.
Fan units were installed throughout the floors with VRV Condensers providing comfortable temperature control to the office and laboratories via secondary high induction supply grilles.
All roof systems required walkways and handrails manufacturing to provide safe access.
Other systems installed include a Comms Room AC split system, a -20 degree freezer room build and refrigeration install for material storage.
Stainless steel ductwork and plastic fan to specialist ICPMS lab equipment to deal with chemical fume extraction. Buffer vessel and pump set configuration within the plantroom.
And finally, a full public health install of sanitary ware and laboratory sinks and basins and safety shower, POU water heaters, high efficiency twin water softener and GRP storage tank with twin headed booster pump.
All systems controlled and managed via a fully integrated BMS system with head end PC and graphics.
Download the full PDF case study here.
A great team effort by all, from the conception of Airmaster's team of designers which made all that came after run and work smoothly. The install with our own contracts engineers and site supervision completed the whole project within a 13 week programme!
The team also completed a 2 week commissioning phase at the end to balance the systems in a -10pa lab environment.
AESSEAL, global manufacturing headquarters, office fit out, Rotherham
Sector: Office fit out
Contract: Mechanical install
Airmaster installed a new high efficiency Mitsubishi Hybrid system to the new modernised office space at AESSEAL, whose global headquarters are based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Over the years regulations are ever-changing to lower the impact of air conditioning refrigerants on the environment and reduce global warming. The team at AESSEAL tasked Airmaster to provide them with sustainable air conditioning systems which target both their energy efficiency conscious operations and further reduces their impact on global warming. The system will also ensure the internal office environment is adaptable to the constant climate changes.
The project installation was for a highly energy-efficient Mitsubishi Electric R32 Hybrid HVRF system which has a lower global warming potential (GWP) of 675 over its R410a VRF predecessor in 2018. This system also utilises a hybrid between refrigerant and hydraulic water to provide simultaneous heating and cooling to the office space, further reducing the GWP potential.
Primary ductwork modifications were carried out to deliver fresh air to the void-mounted fan coil units which precondition fresh air prior to distribution into the office space. Then new secondary ductwork which was connected, thermally insulated, and balanced onto linear grilles was installed the full length of the office space. Hybrid systems utilise part refrigerant / part hydraulic water, therefore requiring a category 5 break tank, PRV, pressure monitoring and distribution pipe work to the HVRF selector box for filling of the hydraulic water circuits of the system.
The system is controlled via a central touch screen intelligent controller, allowing multi functional zoning, time control and system diagnostics, along with integration to the building’s automatic BMS controls system using BACnet protocol.
This project was completed in August 2024, with the second phase of the project commencing in February 2025 in another part of the large AESSEAL Rotherham facilities. This will be followed by additional works later in the year to de-carbonise the building further by removing the existing gas boilers and installing more energy efficient systems utilising similar technology as their warehouse heating. It’s been great to work alongside such a forward-thinking company who share our desire to move towards systems with higher efficiency and lower GWP potential.
To download the PDF of the case study please click here
“The installation of the first-floor hybrid system was completed with the upmost professionalism, integrity and care. The support from Airmaster in the office was outstanding along with the support the engineers showed, which was brilliant. The lead time from placing the order to the kit arriving and being installed was a really good turnaround. I have had feedback from those within that office saying how grateful they are of the upgrade and can tell the difference with the new system.”
Billie Clark
Facilities Maintenance & Project Co-Ordinator, AESSEAL
Cold room supply and install - Doncaster
Airmaster have completed the supply and install of a cold room for Highfield Coffee Social in Doncaster as part of their fit out of their new coffee shop.
Main Contractor: Togel Contractors
Project Manager: Stephanie Lagan–Collins, Fatfish Design
Airmaster supplied and installed the walk-in chiller cold room, refrigeration equipment, cold room shelving and a personnel entrapment alarm.
We also supplied and installed a stainless-steel kitchen canopy with integrated supply and extract, along with stainless steel wall cladding.
The existing A/C fan coil units were relocated, and we supplied and installed additional heat recovery units, along with upgrading all the ceiling grilles to matte black to fit with the new interior decor of the public facing coffee shop space.
To download a full copy of our case study please click here
“We have worked with Airmaster for around 20 years for all our air conditioning requirements throughout our business sites in Doncaster, including PPM, servicing, server room design and install when relocating offices.
When we have had problems arise in the past, all it has taken is a phone call to Airmaster, and on many occasions they have gone the extra mile to help us resolve the issue quickly and efficiently.
So, when we began to develop plans for Highfield Coffee Social, we knew we were in capable hands with the team to fulfil our specific requirements. The whole process, from initial plans through to fit and commission, was faultless, and we are delighted with the outcome.”
Mike Stark, Facilities Manager, Highfield
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