Solutions for High Heat Loads
Located 12 miles northwest of downtown Boston, this 2-story, 62,000-square-foot Class A office building is on Mall Road, between the Burlington Mall and the Lahey Clinic. Built in the early 1980s, 3 New England Executive Park is one of a 13-building master-planned office park on 56 acres totaling more than one million square feet of Class A office space.Project Description
In spring 2004, Sona Laser Centers, Inc. leased 10,000 square feet on the first floor. A pioneer in the laser hair removal industry, Sona is a franchise operation with centers from coast to coast. Because of unusually high heat loads caused by the personal care laser equipment, the heating and air-conditioning requirements were substantial.
Critical Design Challenge for 10 Personal Care Rooms
To combat Sona’s high heat loads, the building’s property manager contacted Peter Donati, ABCO Refrigeration, Somerville, Mass., for assistance. Donati saw the opportunity for installing a new cooling and heating technology. The Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning system by Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions, Suwanee, Ga., seemed ideal for this application because it would allow Sona to provide each individual space with its own personalized, zoned comfort system. Donati contacted Consulting Engineer James Avitabile, Commercial Construction Consulting, Inc. (C3), Boston.
A Timely, Innovative Solution for Sona Laser Centers, Inc.
“As soon as I inspected the Sona space and discovered the structural, architectural and zoning restrictions of this building, Peter and I knew that Mitsubishi Electric would be a great solution for this job. Because of its ability for ductless installation, its unique, patented INVERTER technology and personalized zone comfort system, I knew this was the perfect application. No other manufacturer could supply these features and I started immediately on the application design,” Avitabile said. For the 10,000-square-foot Sona Center, Avitabile designed all the piping, coil units and wiring. He specified two PUHY 100,000 Btu/h compressor units to be installed on the roof. He then ran the refrigerant piping and wiring down a convenient interior column to Sona’s first floor space. For the interior rooms, Avitabile specified five wall-mounted PKFY 20,000 Btu/h air-handling units, and five wall-mounted PKFY 32,000 Btu/h air-handling units.
Excellent Engineering and Technology: Like Clockwork
ABCO Refrigeration worked with National Mechanical Services, Melrose, Mass., for the proper system start up.
After the 10-day VRF zoning system installation and start up, 38-year HVAC and electrical engineering veteran Charles R. Shiner, president, National Mechanical Services, said, “This equipment is extremely well engineered. I’ve seen nothing like it here in New England. To my knowledge, there is no other manufacturer that can touch this technology. In fact, next week, I am sending my lead technician to Atlanta to be trained on the VRF zoning system by Mitsubishi Electric HVAC. And I am going to follow him to Atlanta in January. I’ve been looking for this kind of innovation for years. What’s really impressive is the excellent engineering on the variable speed compressor: it works like clockwork. What’s more, one can hold a normal conversation standing right next to the compressor—the sound levels are that good!”
