Client: Really Useful Theatres Ltd
Contractor: Comfort Service and Maintenance Ltd
Distributor: Pillinger Air Ltd
Type of works: supply of 205kW, R407C Daikin EUWAT80 chiller.

Her Majesty's Theatre, the fourth to stand on the Haymarket site since 1704, has gained recent renown for imaginative staging of productions such as The Phantom of the Opera. The theatre has a troubled past; the first, the capital's original home of grand opera, burned down in 1789 and subsequent buildings suffered from fire, demolition and a serious downturn in audience support. The present theatre was built in 1897 and regained the popularity of earlier days, being noted in the survey of London as 'one of the best-planned theatres in London'.

With the need to provide the pleasant internal environment demanded by modern audiences, the owners installed comfort cooling in 1993. The system utilised 100% fresh air which is tempered via pre-heating, chilled water and re-heating coils prior to its distribution throughout the building. The chilled water for the air handling plant was supplied by an air-cooled chiller.

By the start of 2001 it became apparent that the original chiller was providing less than acceptable efficiency levels. The resident maintenance contractor, Comfort Service and Maintenance Ltd of Lingfield, Surrey, was called upon to advise and organise the installation of an up-to-date replacement. After close consultation with Really Useful Theatres Ltd, the decision was taken to install the state-of-the-art Daikin air-cooled chiller plant, together with the new chilled water pumps and ancillary equipment.

The new 205kW, R407C Daikin EUWAT80 chiller, supplied by distributor Pillinger Air Ltd of Merstham, Surrey, was delivered to site on Saturday 23 June 2001, craned to rooftop level, installed and commissioned, and was up and running in time for the Monday evening performance. Several key factors influenced the choice of Daikin chiller equipment, not least its 3 year warranty and ability to run for 40,000 hours (4.5 years) prior to overhaul. Its Trend-based control system offers excellent compatibility with the theatre's own building management system and its footprint almost identically matches that of the earlier chiller.