Major Chiller Replacement & Upgrade for The London Stock Exchange
CASE STUDY
KLIMA-THERM DELIVERS STATE-OF-THE-ART CHILLER REPLACEMENT PROJECT FOR LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE
Klima-Therm carried out a major chiller replacement and upgrade project for The London Stock Exchange, providing the world-renowned organisation with a state-of-the-art cooling system with increased capacity, efficiency and resilience.
Project Soter involved replacing four York centrifugal chillers running on refrigerant R123, which was subject to phase-out. The machines were also nearing the end of their operational life and proving inefficient and expensive to operate and maintain.
Klima-Therm replaced the ageing machines with four high performance, high efficiency Geoclima TMH 1400.34SP watercooled chillers, based on Turbocor TT500 compressors with flooded evaporators, each capable of delivering 1.4MW of cooling.
Key requirement
A key requirement was that the Stock Exchange and associated facilities continued to operate as normal during the change-over.
Moreover, at all times during the conversion, a second chiller had to be available on standby to run in the event of a problem with the operational chiller. This required careful planning and close collaboration between Klima-Therm and all parties, including the client and consultant, MEIT Consultants.
“The end result is a state-of-the-art cooling system with outstanding efficiency and resilience, that will support the needs of the London Stock Exchange for many years to come. ”
Challenge
Space constraints and site access issues presented a further challenge. The plant room is situated on the fifth floor, with limited double-door access through a pump ante room. All plant had to be transferred from the goods bay via a scissor lift, through the building and to the fifth floor via a small goods lift with a three-tonne limit.
The first phase involved decommissioning and removing the existing plant. Each centrifugal chiller was disassembled in situ and removed in sections. Replacement Geoclima chillers were then delivered into their respective positions in pre-arranged sections – designed to meet the size and weight limitations of the site. Connecting chilled and condenser water pipework was modified to suit each new machine as it was installed.
The existing chillers were each over 4.5m long. Managing their staged removal in the confined space, while concurrently installing the new machines, required careful planning – and some creativity.
Diamond wire cutting
One of the old chillers was particularly tightly boxed in. To enable safe removal, Klima-Therm engaged an industrial cutting specialist, BD Nuclear, to slice up the chiller, “like a chocolate log”, using its proprietary diamond wire cutter system. It is believed to be the first use of the approach in the HVAC industry.
Water pumps
Chilled and condenser water pumps were replaced with new units. These included four Armstrong 4300 IVS Sensorless 18.5kW chilled water pumps, and a four 4300 IVS Sensorless 22kW condenser water pumps.
Prior to the the change-over, the plant room was a compulsory ear-protection area. However, replacement with new Turbomisers – all equipped with magnetic bearings – made a huge difference to noise levels in the plant room.
“Klima-Therm engaged cutting specialist BD Nuclear to slice up the chiller, using its proprietary diamond wire cutter system. It is believed to be the first use of the approach in the HVAC industry.”
Equipment
- 4 x Geoclima TMH 1400.34.SP water-cooled chillers (1.4MW each) ;
- 4 x Armstrong 4300 IVS Sensorless 18.5kW chilled water pump;
- 4 x Armstrong 4300 IVS Sensorless 22kW condenser water pump;
- Chilled and condenser water pipework.
Successfully delivered
The project was delivered successfully with continuity of cooling being maintained throughout. The end result is a state-of-the-art cooling system with outstanding efficiency and resilience, that will support the needs of the London Stock Exchange for many years to come.
