Projects
The new mall construction started in 2016, although the
planning started more than 10 years ago. It was to open
mid-2018, but due to project delays only opened in August
2019. The addition to the existing 87 149m 2 construction makes
Fourways Mall the largest mall in South Africa.
The design specification was to provide an overall costeffective
and practical HVAC system suitable for a modern
mall operation. Important design specifications, among
others, were:
• life cycle costing
• system flexibility due to constant tenant churns
• Per-tenant energy measurement and billing
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THE HVAC SYSTEM INFORMATION
The concept chosen was a closed-circuit condenser water
system with DX water cooled package units, and decentralised
un-conditioned fresh air. The main reason this system was
chosen was for the system’s relatively low life cycle cost, high
level of flexibility and capability of per-tenant billing.
The new mall development section consists of the
following systems:
Central closed-circuit condenser water plant
The main cooling tower plant consists of five towers with dry
cooling capacity to reduce water usage and allow for partial
cooling during domestic water shut-down periods. Closed
circuit cooling towers are used to ensure that the water
circulated to the DX package units is clean and does not foul
the heat exchangers on the DX units in the shops. This ring
main consists of more than 8km of piping.
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RACA Journal
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RACA Journal
1. An aerial view of the new development with roof plant
room on the bottom right.
2. 2097kW Evapco closed circuit cooling tower (eco-ATWB-H
12-4L18-U22).
3. A top view of the cooling tower plantroom layout located
on the roof.
www.hvacronline.co.za RACA Journal I October 2020 29