Selected as a replacement for an ageing air-cooled screw chiller, the project is part of a major upgrade at Jubilee House, the administrative offices of Gatwick Airport.

Carrier’s AquaForce 30XAV with Greenspeed Intelligence was selected by Gatwick Airport as a solution to help meet the airport’s strict environmental policy, set out in its Decade of Change vision and Cooling Strategy beyond 2020.

The new policy includes goals to transition away from high GWP refrigerants, plus targets to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent and energy consumption by 20 percent, and plans to secure 25 percent of energy from renewable sources. 

The chiller uses refrigerant R1234ze with a GWP rating of less than 1, has low sound output and high resilience due to its dual refrigeration circuit.

Carrier’s Greenspeed Intelligence system delivers high efficiency by precisely matching cooling output with the load using a fine-control inverter. This optimises efficiency, particularly at part load conditions, which represents the majority of the time in the UK. The chiller’s excellent efficiency results in a significantly lower carbon footprint and lower running costs over its operational lifetime.

Jack Hartland, principal mechanical engineer at Gatwick Airport, said: “We have set ambitious targets for the environmental performance of all aspects of Gatwick’s operations, and the energy efficiency and carbon status of our buildings are key elements. Based on ultra-low GWP refrigerant R1234ze, the new Carrier chiller delivers in relation to both efficiency and carbon, and has helped us achieve the outstanding environmental performance our strategy requires.”

Designed for flexibility, the chiller features a compact footprint and variable configurations of water pipework that can be matched to existing connections. At Gatwick, the built-in chiller control interface was linked into the building management system, giving high-level control and helping to minimise energy consumption.

The chiller was installed by SPIE UK, which carried out the crane lift and chiller replacement at night due to ongoing activities within the building and surrounding busy airport during the day.

The chiller is protected by Carrier’s Super Enviro-Shield condenser coating, and includes a five-year extended warranty.