32 www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I March 2026
PROJECT project
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Tony Moodley, director at Airetronic and supervisor Majola. In addition, Tony Moodley, director at Airetronic, says that project progress has not been linear. The site experienced – in addition to the one-year hiatus due to budget alignment issues – disruptions from a‘ business forum’, affecting labour access and productivity. These disruptions strained timelines and forced phases of remedial work, especially where initial installations were interrupted mid-process.
Cooling and heating capacity calculations were developed by LSG, with Govender using Carrier HAP software for load calculations, tailored for high-occupancy courtroom conditions, large volumes of fresh air intake and dynamic CO₂-based demand control. This ensures optimal indoor air quality( IAQ) while maintaining energy efficiency, especially important in public buildings used daily by legal professionals and the general public.
The decision not to use chillers in the heritage structure was deliberate.“ The original building couldn’ t accommodate the large-bore piping required for a traditional water plant. So, we opted for DX-based VRF systems by LG, which are more flexible and suitable for retrofits,” Govender explains.
For the new structures, Daikin chillers were installed on the roof, along with TROX air handling units, offering scalable, energy-efficient cooling and heating capabilities. All systems include CO₂ monitoring, fresh air regulation and backup systems – prioritising IAQ and operational resilience.
All suspended HVAC equipment underwent load testing and anchor validation using Hilti’ s engineering tools and services. Reports were reviewed and approved by structural engineers before work proceeded.
A strong emphasis was placed on local procurement and support for community participation goals( CPG) – a requirement for government-funded projects in South Africa.“ We chose TROX for our AHUs partly because they’ re local. That aligns with Community Participation Group( CPG) requirements and reduces transport costs significantly,” says Moodley.
However, fulfilling the CPG mandate has proven challenging.“ You’ re expected to procure 30 % of the project value from local or small enterprises. But the biggest costs are material, not labour. So, we’ ve had to find creative ways to support smaller contractors.”
Recognising government’ s reputation for underfunding maintenance, LSG have included a five-year maintenance plan. After the standard 12-month free guarantee, a structured maintenance contract ensures the systems will be regularly serviced. Public Works may extend the arrangement for another five years thereafter.
32 www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I March 2026