Optimal indoor climate without depending on fossil resources

Business building moves to all-electric

Following housing construction, more and more utility buildings are switching to all-electric solutions for heating, cooling and ventilation. A good example of this is the industrial building at Pompmolenlaan 10 in Woerden, where BLR-Bimon recently installed a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heat pump system and CO2-controlled ventilation.

The old restaurant in the Middelland Zuid business park has been completely renovated. In addition, the wing on the ground floor has been refurbished with offices, meeting and conference units and a new canteen. "Because the existing central heating boilers and cooling unit had reached the end of their technical lifespan after ± 25 years, this was a great opportunity to make them more sustainable," says René Jansen, project manager at BLR-Bimon. "Commissioned by real estate organization CBRE, we engineered and installed a completely new and all-electric climate system for the former restaurant wing. Between August and December 2021, we disconnected the existing central heating and chilled water system in the wing from the rest of the building and the building management system. We then installed a new and autonomously functioning VRF system. This air-to-air heat pump system takes comfort, efficiency and energy efficiency in the wing to the highest level. The approximately 80 kW of heating power is no longer provided by fossil sources, but sustainably generated by the heat pumps."

Independent heating and/or cooling

At the basis of the VRF system are two outdoor units, which are linked by means of a pipe circuit to fourteen indoor units in various capacities. "Chosen was a three-pipe system from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which allows rooms to be heated and/or cooled independently," Jansen says. "A specific wish of our client. Especially in the early and late season, it happens regularly that the shady side of the building still needs heating, while the sunny side already requires cooling. Thanks to direct expansion, the heating and cooling demands of all users are responded to without delay." 

The indoor units each have their own controls, he says. "Thanks to a new control system, they can also be easily monitored and managed from the central reception. This prevents rooms from being heated and cooled that are not in use and can save substantially on energy costs." If desired, BLR-Bimon can also log into the system to check the status of the installations, adjust parameters and/or read out malfunctions.

Demand-controlled ventilation

For the demand-controlled supply of fresh air and removal of used air, BLR-Bimon installed a WTW ventilation system with two air handling units. Each air handling unit has a high-efficiency heat wheel, which recovers 90-95 percent of the extracted energy (heat). Fresh conditioned air is supplied through the VRF units and through diffusers in all rooms. "CO2 sensors here guarantee that each room is supplied with exactly the right amount of fresh air," Jansen said. 

In addition to the climate installations, BLR-Bimon was responsible for the sanitary installations. Thus, the Montfoort-based installation company also realized the drains and water supplies for the kitchen. In the future, the other floors will also be tackled in this way.