A massive upgrade project at a high school in South Western Sydney saw the addition of a new building to accommodate 10 classrooms as well as a new administration block in addition to the refurbishment of the science, visual arts and intensive English classrooms.
The new administration block replaced the existing ill-equipped administration building that lacked modern facilities such as air conditioning. The new building features dedicated offices for senior staff, interview meeting rooms and a general reception area for students.
Donnelley Constructions and HVAC Systems were engaged to design and install an air conditioning system for the building, as well as new wall-mounted split systems in another building, ensuring a comfortable indoor environment for both staff and students.
The project, which was executed between September 2014 and January 2015, needed to address the soaring temperatures in the region throughout the summer and early autumn months. In the absence of an effective air conditioning system for classrooms and learning spaces, high internal temperatures can impact students’ ability to focus and retain information.
Another challenge was to ensure the installation of HVAC systems that were simple to operate, with the controller to be centrally located to effectively manage temperature control and distribution of conditioned air to spaces as required. A centralised control would also address energy efficiency goals by ensuring air conditioning was switched off when rooms were not in use, helping reduce both system load and energy costs.
HVAC Systems selected three Fujitsu General Airstage V-II Series variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems with a combined capacity of 89.8kW for the school’s installation. The HVAC systems were teamed with 8 indoor cassettes, 3 high static pressure duct units, 3 medium static pressure duct units, 2 slim duct units, and 16 controllers.
Fujitsu was selected for the project for their ability to provide a solution that met the school’s key requirements of easy control, performance and affordability.
Key features of the Airstage V-II Series air conditioning system include a smart, cutting-edge design offering excellent energy savings via a heat pump type inverter control; high Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) realised with a unique, 4-face heat exchanger structure and a highly efficient DC twin compressor that substantially increases refrigerant intake while delivering compression efficiency; and high static pressure design flexibility allowing three outdoor units to comfortably service fifteen indoor units across the building.
Another advantage of the Fujitsu system was its ability to accommodate long pipe runs – this addressed the challenge of several indoor units being located on the farthest side of the building, away from the outdoor heat pumps.
Additionally, two Fujitsu 5kW wall-mounted split systems were installed to provide air conditioning in a separate building.
All the Fujitsu systems were able to fully address the requirements of the brief; the project was also executed without complications thanks to on-time delivery of the equipment in good condition, along with technical support offered by Fujitsu to ensure the HVAC solution operated at optimum levels.
By selecting a reputable brand such as Fujitsu, the end-to-end customer service experience was valued by both HVAC Systems and Donnelley Constructions on this project.
Following the completion of construction in early 2015 ahead of the start of the school year, the new administration building was officially opened in June 2015. The air conditioning systems have been operating as designed to optimum levels, and will continue to contribute to a modern learning environment, benefitting students for years to come.
