A new HVAC system for Novotel New Plymouth

The new system has increased energy efficiency, remote diagnostics, and improved troubleshooting capabilities

A major upgrade is underway at Novotel Hotel in New Plymouth, with McAlpine Hussmann installing new Panasonic air conditioning, consisting of 10 x 3-Pipe heat recovery VRF systems, 93 x MF3 mid static (150pa) ducted units, along with a Smart Cloud to provide the ultimate in remote monitoring and control.

“The main advantage of the heat recovery system is it gives simultaneous heating and cooling, which is needed in hotels, as certain guests like their rooms warmer, while other guests like them cooler. So these units can deliver different temperatures to different indoor units at the same time. Being VRF, it is an extremely energy-efficient system,” says Rob Fomison, Panasonic New Zealand’s Commercial Project Sales Manager.

The MF3 mid static ducted units offer improved airflow to enable better temperature within the rooms. Boasting a slimline design with a height of only 250mm, they sit nicely within the ceiling space of the hotel rooms.

“The indoor units also have Nanoe X built in, which is Panasonic patented. This is a revolutionary antivirus, mould, bacteria and odour inhibitor, therefore it’s keeping the rooms nice, fresh, clean and healthy, which is an added bonus,” says Rob.

For easy maintenance and troubleshooting of these systems, the Panasonic Smart Cloud has been installed. This is a central control system, which utilises cloud technology. The cloud adapter is installed in the hotel and links to all of the hotel’s HVAC units.

“The hotel staff are able to log into it just using a laptop or PC. This means they can check what’s going on in every single room. They can switch units on and off, as well as change temperatures and modes. The biggest advantage, however, is the service provider can log in on a higher access level, and Panasonic can log in on an overall level, which enables us to have full online diagnostics of the system,” says Rob.

“If there’s ever a problem, the hotel can contact their contractor and say, I’ve got an error code on the HVAC system, the contractor can log into the Smart Cloud first and do an initial diagnosis. The error code gives them an insight into what’s gone wrong before they’ve even had to send someone out. And if it’s more complicated, they can let us know and our technical team can log in and run full diagnostics on the system and assist when the contractor is on site.”

The new HVAC set-up also means less downtime for the hotel should there be any complications.

“They originally had four outdoor units, so this meant they’d essentially lose a quarter of their accommodation if there were an issue,” says Blaid Gifkins, Refrigeration Engineer at McAlpine Hussman New Plymouth. “With this new setup, we’ve gone to 10 outdoor units – we’ve split it up a lot more. So in the future, if they do have issues, it’s going to take out less of their accommodation because the Panasonic VRF units that we are using can run at a much lower compressor frequency.”

Panasonic has designed the system so that a quarter of indoor units can be in error code, and the rest of the system will continue to run.

“We have used smaller systems in all areas of the hotel. So if they were to lose one system, it would only take out approximately 20 rooms instead of them losing 25 per cent of their rooms,” adds Rob.

Since the HVAC revamp started, the hotel has been making the rooms available, shutting down sections at a time to remove the old equipment and replace it. The final commissioning is scheduled for October 11.