CASE STUDY ON CHILLER REPLACEMENT WORK BY ESPL

In this article, we share a recent achievement of ESPL's SSG (Specialist Services Group), our team comprising Project Management Experts - the team managed to complete the replacement of 5 Large Chillers at a Business Park in a single day.

Overview:

The Business Park located in Bangalore, Karnataka was built in 2006, comprising 1 tower of 7 floors and covering a total area of 99,394 Sq. Meters.

The ESPL team conducted a due diligence of the property and identified the need for Chiller replacement. A detailed report was published indicating the 'end-of-life' for existing chillers and operational challenges associated with it, as also implications leading to higher operational & maintenance costs.

ESPL recommended to replace the 5 existing chillers with 3 new ones of latest technology. This would enhance the overall operational efficiency pertaining to cost & energy savings. Also, a budgetary estimate with Project management Consultancy (PMC) strategy was provided to the client for decision making.

What is a chiller?

A chiller is a cooling system that removes heat by circulating a heat-absorbing refrigerant through a series of mechanisms through which the heat is released. The essential components of a chiller are a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator. They work in unison to circulate a refrigerant that removes heat from a process, operation, or space. With the addition of an air handling unit, chillers can cool work areas with chilled air, much like an air conditioner. Depending on the building, air cooling chillers can be on top or inside of the building.

Specifications of the Chillers at KBP:

• No. of old chillers: 5
• Brand of old chillers: Voltas & Bluestar
• Capacity of old chillers: 2* 100 TR + 3*200 TR (Total 800 TR)
• Weight of old chillers: 7.5 Tonne each
• Capacity of new chiller: 3*240 TR with 2 compressors
• Weight of new chiller: 7.7 Tonne each
• New technology used: 240TR air cooled screw chiller with VFD and variable primary pumps including Chiller Plant Manager for automated operations

How we went about it:

In a single day,? ESPL successfully achieved the dismantling of all 5 chillers using a crane of 300 Tonne capacity.

Simultaneously, we managed to complete the installation of three new chillers on the same day.

Although we encountered a few challenges during the chiller lifting process on-site, we effectively mitigated these risks by making agile decisions on the spot.

Conclusion:

Replacing real estate infrastructure can be a challenging task with multiple areas of operations and maintenance being at a high risk. Through well set protocols, standard operating procedures, and people with expertise, such projects can be dealt with seamlessly and the long term value of real estate assets can be enhanced. If you are looking to engage in similar works with your real estate portfolio, feel free to get in touch with our Specialist Services Group at ESPL.