Reduce commercial air conditioning energy usage and running costs without reducing performance.

With building maintenance sectors under pressure to reduce commercial air conditioning running costs, and growing concern about global warming, the inevitable casualties are tenants who will have to endure the legacies of cost cutting measures, and building owners who face significant rent losses when disgruntled tenants vacate poorly air conditioned premises.

Many owners and managers of older buildings are faced with the options of either replacing the old system - which would be extremely costly and disruptive - or refurbishing it, a measure that also has, until recently, been costly and not certain of meeting all the necessary noise and capacity standards while lowering running costs.

DADANCO Pty Ltd, a South Australian company that specialises in air conditioning solutions, has developed new technology for perimeter zone induction air conditioning systems that not only features greatly improved capacity, dramatic noise level reductions and lower maintenance costs, but also reduces energy costs without compromising performance.

DADANCO technology, now available in the form of refurbishment kits for existing systems or new Starline induction units, has been installed in buildings in all States with outstanding results.

Vladimir Petrovic, DADANCO Managing Director, said that the technology was originally developed to solve noise and capacity problems in perimeter induction air conditioning systems.

"The technology comprises patented new nozzles and a re-designed internal profile of the mixing chamber to allow primary air from the air conditioning plant to be more effectively distributed into the conditioned space," Mr Petrovic said.

"Measurements have shown that the new nozzle and profiled wall sections improve the entrainment of air through the secondary exchanger between 40% and 77%," Mr Petrovic said.

"This increase in efficiency means that the primary air treatment fan and its motor do not have to raise the primary air pressure as high as it may previously have been, thus lowering power consumption and environmental impact."

Mr Petrovic said that primary air pressures ranging from 500Pa to 600Pa were being employed in some induction system installations investigated by DADANCO for possible upgrading.

"In those cases, a DADANCO refurbishment allowed for a reduction of the primary air pressure down to 250Pa which lowered the primary air supply by about 10-12% without reducing the cooling capacity. The reduction of primary air cooling capacity is offset by the increased secondary air cooling capacity," he said.

Mr Petrovic said that in addition to the improved performance, the modifications also lower air-conditioner background noise by up to 15 dB, and reduce maintenance and other running costs.

"DADANCO units have no moving parts and only require an inspection once a year," he said.

Mr Petrovic said a refurbishment kit is available for installation into existing perimeter induction units. "The kits are easily installed by removing the existing nozzles and replacing them with Starline nozzles and locating the sidewall component inside the unit.

"These can be applied to both existing floor and ceiling mounted units with no associated building works and with minimal disruption to tenants. This inexpensive option can provide up to 50% increase of the induced air flow and up to 10dB reduction in noise levels while reducing fan energy by 5%," he said.

A more extensive upgrading can be achieved by retro-fitting new DADANCO Starline units into an existing perimeter air conditioning system using existing ductwork, main plant and controls.

"Starline units, in a range of capacities and dimensions, can replace older induction and fan coil units, and are easily fitted into existing primary air systems and tight ceiling spaces," Mr Petrovic said.

"Systems using floor-mounted units can be converted to use new Starline ceiling-mounted units producing a cost-effective, high-performance, low maintenance system that can release up to 15% more lettable space without extensive re-building.

Mr Petrovic said that new building projects can benefit greatly from DADANCO's new perimeter air conditioning units and components.

"Engineered to comply with all the latest standards and performance expectations, the new Starline system's compact design can reduce ceiling space and allow for lower slab-to-slab dimensions. This allows a gain of one floor in 12 in a given building envelope and can halve the plant room space requirements."