The highest possible energy-efficiency rating, as well as cost savings, have been achieved in a large building in Hollywood, with the help of Danfoss Turbocor compressors.

As part of a laudable effort to maximize energy savings, a large building complex in northern Hollywood, California, USA was fitted with an environmentally-friendly and efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, including eight Danfoss Turbocor compressors. The installation has resulted in reduced energy consumption, money saved and the best possible LEED* rating granted by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).

Compressors 24 to 28% more efficient
According to Levine/Seegel Associates (LSA), the company that owns the building, the Danfoss Turbocor compressors have made a huge difference. “The Danfoss Turbocor compressor was 24 to 28% more efficient than any other positive displacement compressor that we evaluated,” says Anil Shenoy, LSA President.

The building, called the NoHo III Office or 5250 Lankershim Plaza, is a 215,000 square foot, glass-clad structure that includes 182,000 square feet of office space as well as retail and restaurant locations, a double-height, seven-theatre cinema complex, a rooftop helipad and a car park.

Cost savings of nearly 10%
In an effort to conserve both construction costs and energy, LSA teamed up with design/build mechanical contractors ACCO Engineered Systems for a collaborative approach to a new cooling system. The discussion soon focused on the possibility of moving from a chilled water system to a central station built-up, direct expansion (BU-DX) cooling system. This approach would eliminate both the chilled water and condenser water pumps central to the operation of the original chilled water design, giving cost savings of nearly 10%.

“The reason we were able to apply a BU-DX system to a building as large as this one is because Danfoss Turbocor offers compressor technology that is far more efficient than the reciprocating compressors typically used in older direct expansion systems,” says Jacob Coble, ACCO project manager. “They’re small with good capacity for their size, giving you the ability to group them together and build a larger capacity system to meet the demands of a building as large as NoHo III.”

And Jacob Coble believes the BU-DX system will be the future of HVAC systems in large buildings. “I think you’re going to see more BU-DX systems in the future,” he predicts. “It just makes sense. The system offers cost savings, energy savings, less weight, fewer structural elements, no oil and better interfacing with today’s technology. It’s definitely a 21st Century approach to energy-efficiency and all the savings that go with it.”
 

Facts about Danfoss Turbocor:
Danfoss Turbocor is the first high-efficiency, oil-free, variable-speed compressor that provides high energy savings for indoor heating, ventilating & air-conditioning systems (HVAC).  

It can reduce up to 35-50% the energy consumption of an existing commercial HVAC system. However, today far less than 1% of buildings globally have HVAC systems with high-efficiency, oil-free, variable-speed compressors.