Kingston City Council uses federal grant wisely in energy efficient upgrades!!!

The Kingston City Council commissioned Expert Group to provide specialist independent technical advice and assessments on the most effective energy efficient initiatives and technologies to be deployed across the site. The largest saving came from the HVAC system that will deliver savings greater than 50% using the best in class HVAC technologies, and energy efficient lighting upgrades that will deliver the council saving of between 50% and 90%.

The HVAC upgrade comprised replacing a forty year old chiller with a belt driven air handling unit with a 450 kilowatt capacity Smardt-Powerpax chiller to deliver the highest possible efficiency levels of up to three times more efficient than the old one. The old air handling unit and inefficient air extraction systems were replaced with a modern variable speed air supply system with heat recovery and economising technology to optimise the use of natural ventilation and energy recover from ambient air.

These amazing energy savings could not be effectively achieved without the assistance of a building management system with CO2 sensors to assess the number of occupants and a large mixing fan with high efficiency DC Electric Commutated motors, and low drag aerofoil blades with a 3 meter span to improve the air mixing within the conditioned space to deliver saving of 20% in the winter and more than 10% in the summer.

To assist the heating and cooling system the front facia of the City Hall was upgraded with first class solar control and low emissivity double glazed windows that not only inhibits the harsh western sun or solar heat gain from penetrating the building and its occupants in summer, it also provides a high level of thermal insulation to prevent heat losses during the winter.

A comprehensive lighting upgrade of around 600 lamps and fittings was also undertaken across the sites, which required trial and error, and paying close attention to the technical standards to ensure lighting levels were maintained. The energy savings ranged from around 50% to as high as 90% involving more than 30 different lighting types and configurations in conventional and antique fittings.

This extensive energy efficiency upgrade and refurbishment is an outstanding example of integrating new and old where leading technologies required to reduce global emissions can be achieved whilst maintaining the heritage and cultural significance of the buildings, fittings and fixtures.