The customer is a major animation studio based in Northern California, very technology driven, extremely conscious of noise and vibration and concerned about energy savings.
Project Requirements
Retrofit a 20-ton scroll tandem compressor in an existing 15-year-old York package unit that had one of the 10-ton tandem compressors fail.
Provide a solution that was to meet these requirements:
- Replace the existing R-22 refrigerant with a new EPA approved refrigerant
- Utilize as much of the original equipment as possible
- Better comfort control
- Energy efficiency
What ACCO Delivered
ACCO Engineered Systems performed a retrofit compressor upgrade that broke new ground in the use of variable speed compressors. What was unusual about this retrofit conversion is that a tandem scroll set was replaced by a single semi-hermetic reciprocating Bitzer compressor with an integrated VSD.
ACCO worked with Bitzer to size and retrofit the tandem scrolls with a single nominal 15-ton Varispeed semi-hermetic compressor.
BITZER’s 4PCS-15.F4Y Varispeed™ compressor was a perfect choice it operates from 25-87Hz, thereby generating nearly 5-tons of capacity at 25Hz and 22-tons of capacity at 87Hz. As the load on the auditorium changes, the compressor speed changes to match the load requirement. This seamless capacity control minimizes suction pressure fluctuations and cycling rates, thus reducing energy costs.
Customer requirements were met by:
- Replacing the R-22 with EPA approved R-407C
- Utilizing the original major refrigeration components. Condenser coil, Evaporator coil and Expansion device.
- Implementation of an infinite supply air temperature control provided constant comfort to the occupants.
- Bitzer’s compressor technology with integrated VSD, soft start, and greater turndown capability during low load conditions provided the energy savings our customer was looking for.