Water-cooled VRV air conditioning serves Croydon landmark building
Daikin’s water-cooled VRV system has been used in the refurbishment of three floors of Carolyn House in Croydon, using risers to roof-top plant.
Carolyn House in Croydon has become one of the first UK projects to be air conditioned using Daikin’s water-cooled VRF system. This 17-storey building was built in the early 1960s and has been progressively refurbished floor-by-floor as individual leases expire. The latest refurbishments involved the first, 10th and 11th floors, which were upgraded to an open-plan format suitable for adaptation and zoning by incoming tenants. New building services designed by Watkins Payne Partnership include Daikin’s VRV-WII water-cooled heat-recovery air conditioning installed by EPM Air Conditioning. Three 30 hp systems serve these floors via condensing units in purpose-designed services cupboards on the same floors. Each condensing unit is connected by a flow and return water circuit to existing LTHW boiler plant and heat-rejection dry cooler at roof level. Water is supplied to the circuit at 30°C in the winter and 32°C in the summer. Liquid/gas refrigerant lines link the condensing units with the 14 or so indoor units concealed in the ceiling void on each floor. During heating cycles, heat is transferred from the water circuit via a plate heat exchanger in the condensing unit to the refrigerant circuit. During cooling cycles, heat is rejected to the water circuit. The cooling load is about 60 kW for each floor, with a heating load of about 32 kW. Tempered fresh air for each floor is provided by two Daikin VAM energy-reclaim units on each floor, which modulate the temperature and humidity of the incoming fresh air. Energy recovery reduces the load on the VRV system. Each system is under the control of a Daikin I-manager air-conditioning management system.
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