Wiltshire County Council Chooses High Efficiency Carrier Chillers in Air Conditioning Upgrade

Carrier water-cooled screw chillers, with a combined cooling capacity of more than 1.4MW,are providing high efficiency, reliable cooling at Wiltshire County Council’s headquarters.
Two Carrier high performance AquaForce30XW-V variable speed chillers were selected for installation at the Council’s headquarters in Trowbridge, Wilts. AquaForce chillers are based on proven inverter-driven twin-rotor screw compressors, which allow the cooling capacity to be precisely matched to the changing building load, significantly reducing power input. Automatically adjusting the capacity results in Eurovent-certified industry leading values for European Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (ESEER) of up to 8.
“The key requirement for the replacement chillers was they had to be extremely reliable and based on proven technology from a reputable manufacturer. Secondly, the equipment had to be installed by an experienced contractor with a successful track record on similar projects,”said Ian MacDowall, director, K4 Service Ltd, who led the replacement project.
K4 Service Ltd has many years of experience installing Carrier systems on similar large-scale projects across the country.
“With the help and technical support of Russ Tyrrell,Carrier’s senior sales engineer, we chose Carrier screw chillers,as they are very energy efficient and rock solid, with an unrivalled reliability record and long operational life,” said Ian MacDowall.
Continuity of cooling had to be maintained throughout the project to enable the building to continue operating. To ensure this, K4 Service located a temporary chiller in the Council carpark and connected it to the building’s chilled water system, maintaining supply to the air conditioning during the changeover.
The basement plant room housing the chillers had very restricted access, requiring a carefully planned and executed lift-and-shift operation.The previous units were disconnected and extracted using a crane through a deep well above the plant room, and the new Carrier units were lowered into position.
Due to the compact design and configuration of the Carrier chillers, it was possible to deliver the units into the tight plant room without the need to modify the structure, saving time and money on the installation. With a width of approximately 1.25meters for units up to 1,000kW, the chillers can pass through standard-size door openings and require minimum floor space.
“AquaForce screw chillers are a premium and compact solution for commercial and industrial applications where customers require exceptional reliability and excellent energy efficiency. The Carrier units were –literally– a perfect fit for the end user’s requirements,” said Russ Tyrell, senior sales engineer, Carrier.
The installation proved to be a great success, delivering the comfort, reliability and efficiency required by the client.
“I am pleased to say the Carrier units have performed impeccably since being installed. Environmental conditions in the building are being maintained at optimum levels, and efficiency performance so far is as anticipated,” said Philip McMullan,contracts manager, Hard FM, Wiltshire Council.
Peter Lifton of Box Twenty Consulting, Bristol, was the project consultant.