The Myer Centre, in Adelaide’s iconic Rundle Mall, is the largest shopping centre in the Adelaide CBD. Comprising of 60,000 sqm of retail accommodation, it is home to the largest Myer department store in South Australia, an underground foodcourt and over 80 specialty retailers.
Airmaster have been conducting HVAC & BMCS service and maintenance at Myer Centre since 2006, and, as part of an equipment upgrade project, identified that greater energy efficiency and cost savings could be achieved through chiller replacement works and by the introduction of plant room optimisation solution PlantPRO.
In a carefully planned and managed project that was executed over two and a half years, and with the support of CBRE’s Operations Manager, two of the three existing chillers were replaced with York YMC2 variable speed centrifugal chillers.
This was followed by the installation and commissioning of PlantPRO to finalise the system upgrade.
The effectiveness of the chiller replacement works and subsequent PlantPRO installation and commissioning is best illustrated by analysis conducted throughout the course of the works.
Looking at the month of November, a month where Adelaide’s temperature begins to rise for the summer, monthly mechanical energy usage since 2012 shows a downward trend from 265,000 kWh used in 2012 down to 162,000 kWh in 2015.
Whilst the chiller plant optimisation has provided this significant energy reduction, it has been made more effective due to the associated works with the cooling towers and the foresight in total tower capacity to incorporate the replacement of the final chiller.
This is just one example of the power of PlantPRO when combined with chiller replacement works. For more PlantPRO case studies from around the country, visit plantpro.com.au.