Project
being extracted from the kitchen canopy ). The ecology unit is a packaged unit with its own fan , grease catchers , carbon filters and UV lights . This was a good solution for this project because without low level air discharge , ducting would have to be added all the way to the roof ( 15 floors from the Restaurant to the roof ) which also holds significant costs and design implications .
" This project included to a large degree a complex ventilation system ."
Not only does the natural gas feed to each unit of this building , it is also used to produce hot water for the building through two boilers located in the basement . In addition to the gas stove of the regular units , the penthouses are fitted with gas braais as well as gas fireplaces . Gas installations such as those found at this project need to include cross ventilation – so basically an inlet grille at low level , and an outlet grille at high level to produce natural ventilation in each apartment . The size of the natural ventilation grilles was calculated using SANS 827 .
The penthouses needed air conditioning and so a VRF heat pump unit was selected and installed individually for each of these apartments . It would not have been cost-effective to select one central system for all the apartments for several reasons – mainly because this solution would be difficult to build at this site and then secondly a challenge would arise to monitor energy consumption and hence billing , so ACS opted for the individual heat pump VRF per penthouse unit solution .
© RACA Journal | Benjamin Brits © RACA Journal | Benjamin Brits
The ecology unit .
A number of fresh air intake areas feed the basement . A main shaft runs through all the below ground levels .
© RACA Journal | Benjamin Brits
A grille located in one of the stairwells that is a part of the required pressurisation for these zones .
© RACA Journal | Benjamin Brits
The ozone generator for the refuse room .
© RACA Journal | Benjamin Brits
The building ’ s grease trap in the grease trap room . Foul air is removed using a dedicated extract fan .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I May 2022 49