Prompted by uncomfortable indoor conditions during a summer heatwave, a central London apartment hotel’s inefficient and ageing rooftop chiller was replaced by a high efficiency Daikin unit with a smaller footprint and opportunities for cloud-based monitoring and control.

Citadines Trafalgar Square has 187 apartments, which are air conditioned by fan coil units with cooling and heating coils. These are served by independent hot and cold water circuits, dating from the historic six-storey Northumberland Avenue building’s conversion from offices in the 1990s.

Maintenance manager Ray Klova says: “The chiller was definitely at the end of its lifespan, so we approached Direct Cooling Services who had installed various Daikin solutions at some of our other properties.

“We were impressed by the specifications of the Daikin EWAQ chiller and its extended warranty. It was the best option for our needs. We are now ready for the next heatwave.”

The 400kW Daikin EWAQ high-efficiency chiller was chosen to optimise energy efficiency while also minimising operating costs and environmental impact. The unit features high efficiency hermetic multi-scroll compressors, enhanced condenser coil surface area and plate-to-plate evaporator with reduced pressure drops and low refrigerant charge.

A latest generation MicroTech III controller provides monitoring and control functions required for an efficient and trouble free operation of the chiller. Software with predictive logic selects the most energy efficient combination of compressor load and electronic expansion valve position to maintain stable operating conditions and maximise chiller efficiency and reliability.

The chillers were switched in winter, so there was no further inconvenience to Citadines guests.