Woodview Construction

The Challenge

eCubed was engaged as the mechanical consultant to design a new headquarters for Woodview Construction that met the requirements to obtain accreditation under the Green Star NZ Industrial Tool V3. The target was to achieve a 5 Green Star Building Rating from the criteria outlined on the New Zealand Green Building Council website.

The Mitsubishi Electric Solution

Hybrid VRF offers next-generation energy efficiency with reduced carbon emissions

High COP City Multi Hybrid VRF (HVRF) was an ideal solution in support of the targeted Green Star NZ Built Rating for this new facility.

The use of PURY-EP High COP outdoor units allows the system to operate with lower energy consumption than standard units while also providing exceptional seasonal performance. As this system uses inverter compressors, the outdoor unit is able to ramp up and down to provide the required capacity in real-time. As a result, energy use is decreased as they only work as hard as needed.

Water rather than refrigerant is at the heart of the indoor units, reducing the overall charge and need for leak detection systems

As HVRF primarily uses water as the medium between the branch controller and indoor units, the total amount of refrigerant present in the system is drastically decreased; which in turn, lowers its potential emissions. Furthermore, the need to mitigate refrigerant leaks in each space and add any additional refrigerant in the future is minimised.

VRF performance with hydronic levels of comfort

HVRF systems operate like a chilled water solution but can provide cooling and/or heating to each indoor unit individually. The air-off temperature at each indoor unit is also milder than traditional VRF, therefore improving the thermal comfort for all occupants in any room.