Facilities
Air Conditioning/ Heating System Project – May 25th 2018
The expansion build was completed in May 2018. It is unique to regional Victoria, with the capability to host international events such as basketball, netball, volleyball, boxing, gymnastics, live music concerts, and many more. The capacity of a 4000 seat arena gives the flexibility to diversify from grassroots sport to international events.
The expansion project requirements included the supply of heating, cooling and ventilation to the stadium during both regular and event mode operation.
Installation
The stadium is served by four HCVR-60 units, the largest in the HCVR range and located at each corner of the stadium. Supply air to the stadium is via concealed rigid ductwork risers and exposed fabric ductwork installed at high level over the seating areas. The fabric ductwork is provided with jet nozzles specifically designed to supply air to the occupied stadium and seating areas. Computer software was used to model the stadium heating, cooling and supply airflow requirements in lieu of the traditional air change method used for evaporative cooling systems. The systems were designed with return air connections for heating mode, a standard feature with the AIRA HCVR units, with modulating outside air and return air dampers. The dampers control the amount of outside air introduced to the space during heating mode based on the carbon dioxide levels within the stadium. The system’s ability to reduce outside air supply when it’s not required reduces the system energy consumption and CO2 emissions and provides life-cycle cost savings to the stadium.
Results
The AIRA HCVR HVAC design that was installed met all project requirements including the supply of cooling and ventilation, the supply of heating for the cold winter periods, the provision for outside air ventilation for a stadium capacity of 4,000 people during events, low running costs and improved energy-efficiency. The AIRA HCV and HCVR units make the HVAC system design flexible as they provide cooling and heating within a single unit. The high supply air range of up to 16,000 L/s was also beneficial to the project, allowing fewer units to be installed in the stadium.