VRF heat pump system for a golf facility
Reference for efficient heating and cooling
Oberhausen, GermanyPlanning exceptional buildings is always a challenge for everyone involved. This often applies in particular to the technical equipment of a building, as no “standard solutions” can be used here. The flexibility of the VRF heat pump technology also enables solutions for special buildings, allowing the implementation of efficient and comfortable air conditioning. The Topgolf leisure event location in Oberhausen, Germany, is a great example of a successful project and serves as a model to the operator for other sites.
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Requirements:
- System for cooling and heating operation
- High energy efficiency and functional reliability
- Maximum flexibility and climate comfort
- Remote system monitoring and control
Initial conditions
Initial conditions
Topgolf is a leisure event location with now 70 facilities worldwide. As the exclusive Topgolf licensee for Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy, the Greenreb company recently commissioned the first completed complex in Oberhausen, Germany. The location is situated on a former 30,000 m² steelworks site, surrounded by a fence of 54 metres height. The leisure facility includes a three-storey building with a restaurant and three bars, 102 serviced teeing grounds from which golf balls can be hit onto a 200-metre-long outfield, as well as a large number of private parking areas including charging stations for electric vehicles.
At the Topgolf facility in Oberhausen, guests can tee off microchipped golf balls all year round. Technology also plays a central role in other areas of this ultra-modern facility. For example, many special industrial solutions were implemented for the drainage of the pitch. Under the leadership of Managing Director Dipl.-Ing. Lars Hendriks, the engineering office was responsible for planning the entire technical building equipment – as well as the air conditioning.
Which solution was chosen for the golf facility?
City Multi VRFMitsubishi Electric’s City Multi VRF Y series system for cooling and heating operation
A Mitsubishi Electric City Multi VRF Y series system for cooling or heating is used. The air-conditioning system essentially fulfils the task of being able to balance different heating and cooling loads in the building in a comfortable yet very responsive manner. Here, the system primarily serves for cooling the building. Base load temperature control is provided by conventional radiators using the district heating available on site. As short-term peak loads sometimes occur, the air-conditioning system can be used as an air-to-air heat pump for heating. In this way, the air-conditioning system supports the dedicated heating system during the transitional period and in the winter months. This is possible because the VRF system used features an integrated heat pump function and enables either cooling or heating operation at any time via a switching function. In addition, the building architecture required a high degree of flexibility in the piping design. For this reason, the only option was a system allowing the implementation of long pipe runs between outdoor and indoor units.
High energy efficiency and functional reliability
The Y series outdoor units provide 12.5 to 150 kW of cooling output and 14.0 to 168 kW of heating output. A total of five PUHY-P-YNW-A1 and PUHY-P-YNW-A1 outdoor units with different output levels are installed in this complex. With a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 6.70 or 6.39 for cooling mode and a Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) of 4.16 or 4.13 in heating mode, the YLM series impresses with its high energy efficiency even in the standard series, thus ensuring particularly energy-saving operation.
All indoor units are equipped with 3D i-see sensor technology for intelligent air conditioning. The sensor detects the presence of persons in the room, adjusting the temperature to match. Besides saving energy, this ensures a high standard of comfort since air is not blown directly at the guests. As the outdoor and indoor units are connected to the 3D i-see sensor technology, the units enter an expanded energy-saving mode that makes it possible to reduce the compressor capacity. This enables automatic energy-saving operation in locations where the number of persons present changes frequently and the heat loads that need to be dissipated are therefore lower. If the number of persons present in the room increases, the compressor will raise its capacity.
Remote system monitoring and control
The control concept follows a twofold approach. On one hand, there is room optimised temperature control following a dedicated, set nominal temperature. In addition, a time-controlled programme is established to exclude operation at night and to ensure optimum energy saving.
Compact PAR-40MAA or PAR-U02MEDA cable remote controls are available in each room as bus-compatible group remote controls for operating the indoor units in the individual temperature zones. All VRF systems can also be controlled via a common central remote control. The AE200 central control system also offers operators the option of remote access via Internet or smartphone app, for example to read out the operating status or any fault diagnosis data from a distance. Fault messages can also be sent by e-mail or SMS. The specialist company in charge has remote access to the system data and, if necessary, can analyse and, under favourable circumstances, rectify faults remotely – without an on-site visit.
In this particular case, three Mr. Slim series power inverter systems have been installed in addition to the VRF systems for cooling the plant room. For year-round cooling, two large PLA-ZM125EA 4-way ceiling cassettes, which are operated redundantly via the PAR-40MAA, are suspended in a large server room. An additional system consists of a Mr. Slim outdoor module and a PKA-M60KAL wall-mounted unit, which is installed in another smaller server room. All systems are controlled and monitored by the AE200.
Maximum flexibility and climate comfort
The building is supplied via 55 indoor units using typical Euro grid 4-way ceiling cassettes. A refrigeration circuit always consists of a number of indoor units with one dedicated outdoor unit each. The PLFY 4-way ceiling cassettes are available in various performance levels from 1.2 to 5.6 kW cooling output. The air is recirculated, i.e. the room air is sucked in by the indoor units, sent through a heat exchanger, and conditioned before being returned to the room. In this way, the room air is cleaned and dehumidified according to the level of filtering, thus ensuring a high level of hygiene.
The compact dimensions of 570 x 570 millimetres are a particular advantage, making installation in the suspended ceiling according to the standardised Euro grid dimensions much easier and thus contributing to a fast installation time. With their low height of just 245 millimetres, the units can be easily installed in suspended ceilings with limited installation height. This modern indoor unit series has numerous additional functionalities. The horizontal air discharge ensures an optimum flow of cooled or preheated, filtered air through the rooms to be air-conditioned, with virtually no draughts for users.
The key points
Summary- The Topgolf leisure event location in Oberhausen, Germany, is special in many respects. This also applies to solutions in the field of technical building equipment such as air-conditioning technology.
- Beyond being very satisfied with the Mitsubishi Electric City Multi VRF system, the operator is also convinced that he has found the best solution for his requirements in terms of energy efficiency, comfort and functional reliability.
- The City Multi VRF Y series for cooling and heating is particularly suitable as a solution for this type of application.
- The system offers maximum flexibility and climate comfort and impresses with its energy efficiency in either cooling or heating mode. The existing static heating system is relieved by using environmentally friendly heat pump technology to heat, for example, at low outside temperatures.
- The ability to cover long distances with the pipeline network and the implementation of remote system monitoring and control by a specialised company also convinced the company to use this technology at other sites.