Grand Central Hotel, Northern Ireland

Grand, centralised air conditioning system for new Belfast hotel

Transformation of a 1970s Belfast office tower into Northern Ireland’s largest and tallest hotel presented a clean slate for air conditioning design and the opportunity to showcase the benefits of a Daikin VRV IV heat recovery system.

With nothing more than some local air conditioning in the original configuration of the 23 storey building, it was effectively a newbuild installation for Mallusk-based Daikin D1+ partner, Titan Air Conditioning.

The needs for a system that will reliably deliver operating cost savings wherever possible.

The hotel’s Daikin system provides space heating and cooling as necessary for:

• 300 guest rooms, including 10 suites.

• Public areas such as reception, three restaurants, conference and meeting

rooms, and the stunning Observatory cocktail bar – Ireland’s highest – on the 23rd floor

• Management offices

Titan installed 25 Daikin VRV IV heat recovery condensing units, totalling 328hp.

There are two outdoor plant areas:

• On the podium roof, serving the ground floor and floor 1-7

• On the tower roof, serving floors 8-23.

“Equally important from the management viewpoint was that the system would reliably deliver operating cost savings wherever possible. We are confident that the Daikin VRV IV heat recovery system installed by Titan Air Conditioning ticks all the boxes for us.”

Howard Hastings, Managing Director of Hastings Hotels

The Installation Set Up

Guest rooms have ducted units with low external static pressure, mounted in the usual hotel style above entrance ceilings, with discharge directly into the bedroom area. A simplified remote controller is provided in each room for guest use.

In addition to the heat recovery units, the podium plant area has three Daikin VRV IV heat pumps serving DX coils in the hotel’s air handling units. It also has the outdoor units for Split and Sky Air systems that provide cooling for the laundry and communications room.

Public areas mostly have concealed ceiling units (medium ESP) or Daikin’s fully flat cassette, with white decoration panels. Offices have wall mounted fan coil units. Wired remote controllers are provided for the public areas and offices.