PROJECT
Daikin recently supplied full air conditioning package solution including VRV technology and Air Handling Units to meet the comfort needs of a newly built shopping center – the INTRO Bergheim. A 22 retail units shopping center near Cologne, in Germany.
PRODUCTS
THE CHALLENGE
The focus in this project was on the individual requirements of each retail unit as far as climate comfort as well as ensuring energy-efficient operations of the building services. In order to be able to meet the individual air conditioning needs of the different tenants, INTRO Bergheim relied on an overall concept based on the use of heat pump technology in combination with ventilation systems, for decentralised air conditioning and ventilation. Consultants and installers of the Osnabrück branch of Zimmer & Hälbig GmbH planned and installed all the technical building equipment for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, using the so-called 360° building services concept, which directed their choice towards one single manufacturer for heating, air conditioning, ventilation and system control solutions.
THE SOLUTION
With a broad product portfolio, Daikin could meet the needs for over 90% of the technical building equipment. Heating, air conditioning, ventilation and overall system control thus came from a single source, ensuring perfect coordination and savings on installation and maintenance costs. In this way, interlocking systems could be optimised in terms of energy efficiency, maintenance and management, and combined without compatibility problems. This will also ensure cost reductions during the life cycle of the building and, at the same time, substantial energy and CO2 savings will be made. For this project Daikin supplied the customers with the so-called Plug & Play complete package, i.e., a ready-to-use combination of heat pumps (VRV technology or ERQ condensing units) for heating and cooling, and Daikin Air Handling Units for ventilation. This possibility ensured customers could get the increased energy efficiency benefits of a package of technological solutions made and optimized to efficiently work together, plus easy and fast installation. Commercial buildings such as the INTRO Bergheim, often operate in cooling mode, even though the outside air is too cold to be routed inside untreated. In this case, the heat in the exhaust air from the sales areas is used to pre-heat the incoming cold fresh air (note: the heat exchanger technology used ensures no contamination between clean and exhaust air flows can happen). So, cold outdoor air is preconditioned with the help of rotary heat exchangers in the ventilation units. Besides that, an additional heating or cooling source was needed for situations when heat recovery alone is not sufficient to achieve the desired temperature. Daikin supplied the customers with the so-called Plug & Play complete package, i.e., a ready-to-use combination of heat pumps (VRV technology or ERQ condensing units) for heating and cooling, and Daikin Air Handling Units for ventilation. This possibility ensured customers could get the increased energy efficiency benefits of a package of technological solutions made and optimized to efficiently work together, plus easy and fast installation. Consultants and installers at the Osnabrück branch of Zimmer & Hälbig GmbH developed and implemented the air conditioning concept with the support of Daikin, deciding to use energy-efficient heat pump systems that could provide heat and cooling at the same time. To fully achieve the goals set with their project, they needed heat pumps that could be operated on amounts of energy that could allow the shopping center to rely on the energy generated from renewable resources (air). So, VRV heat pumps were chosen, whose outdoor units – due to the limited space available – were located on the parking deck above the shopping centre. Daikin also supplied a comprehensive control management system, which can control the entire HVAC system, integrating both Daikin equipment and devices from other suppliers. By controlling the individual indoor units or shop areas via user-friendly remote controls, the system can be controlled in a decentralized way. Also, the intelligent energy management optimizes the performance of all the units in the system, allowing to promptly adjust settings based on the actual needs the different areas of the shopping center might have. 