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Project Profile :: Victorian Arts Centre Central Plant Upgrade

Approx. Contract Value
$10,500,000.
Construction Period
14 Months, April 1999 - June 2000
Client
Major Projects Victoria
Project Manager
Lincolne Scott Australia
Consultants
Engineering Services Lincolne Scott Australia
Metier 3 Architecture
Ove Arup Structure
Builders
A.G.Coombs Pty Ltd

Project Scope

Components:

  • Chiller replacement totaling 15,000 kWR
  • NGV Early Works Building Package
  • Cooling tower replacement
  • NGV De-coupling Works
  • Citipower substation upgrade
  • VAC electrical bus-way replacement
  • New NGV electrical feeder and substation
  • Upgrade of standby generator systems
  • VAC automatic bus-tie

Engineering Highlights:

  • Largest CFC phase-out project of its type undertaken in Australia at the time;
  • Advanced variable speed chiller technology is expected to reduce energy consumption by 40-50% with respect to the original chiller installation and up to 30% compared with most other standard chiller selections;
  • A range of energy saving technologies and design features including condenser water variable speed pumping, lead-lag variable speed secondary chilled water pumping, chilled water reset, low energy condenser water piping design;
  • Low energy cooling towers use 50% less energy than alternative designs;
  • Largest chemical-free water treatment and cooling tower cleaning system HVAC installation in Australia;
  • Largest HVAC ABS (plastic) condenser water system in Australia: eliminates condenser water pipework corrosion problems evident in many other projects completed in recent years;
  • A high level of system and equipment redundancy and removal of single points of failure designed to ensure National Gallery internal environment control commitments are met;
  • Advanced Building Automation System featuring both BACNet and LonMark open protocols with an operator interface providing enhanced information including complete details of system operation, control strategies and commissioning records;
  • New point-of-use energy billing system featuring Electricity Authority standard energy monitoring and billing systems
  • Transfer of the Citipower High-Voltage sub-stations to the VACT including automated High-Voltage bus-tie switches.
  • Major upgrade of the central plant standby power systems providing increased coverage and improved operational and maintenance flexibility