- 4 buildings ranging in height from 7 to 13 storeys
- 141 apartments
- 2 commercial lots
- completed 2000
- 9 lifts (2 per building & goods lift)
- 3 car park levels (combined for all buildings)
- indoor heated pool
- sauna & spa
- gymnasium
- bike room & kayak room
Regatta Wharf upgraded the car park ventilation system to incorporate carbon monoxide (CO) sensors and variable speed drives (VSDs). An investment of $34,000 is on track to save them over $35,000 p.a.
Why this project?
Regatta Wharf participated in the City of Sydney Council’s Smart Green Apartments program. The energy audit not only identified that HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) - of which the carpark ventilation system is a significant element - accounted for 34% of total common property energy consumption, but that the carpark ventilation system accounted for 24% of total consumption. The auditor recommended the installation of CO sensors and VSDs and determined that the payback period would be around 3 years.
regatta-wharf-energy-chart
Findings from the energy audit
Existing system and operation
The car park ventilation system consists of 3 exhaust fans and 1 supply fan. They were controlled by a timer and ran for 6 hours every weekday.
regatta-wharf-demand-graph
Common property energy demand, in half-hourly intervals, for a typical day when the system operated on a timer.
The solution
regatta-wharf-vsd
Variable speed drive
8 CO sensors were installed to meet the requirement that no point in the carpark can be more than 25m away from a sensor. The supply and exhaust fans were fitted with variable speed drives.
The total cost was $33,763.40 (inc GST).
regatta-wharf-co-detector
CO detector
regatta-wharf-co-control
CO monitoring control unit
Outcomes
The results exceeded expectations, and the system will pay for itself within a year. Savings in the first year of operation are expected to exceed $35,000.
The following graphs show the impact on electricity consumption following the installation on the 18th & 19th August.
Average daily consumption for the month following installation was approx. 12% less than that preceding the installation.
