A More Efficient Air-Con Solution for Tall Buildings
Sourceable, February 23, 2015
Air-conditioning for tall buildings can be a challenge for a number of reasons.
- As you build taller you have to contend with variance in ambient temperature and wind which is a particular issue when you exceed 60 storeys
- With air-conditioning typically accounting for 30 per cent of a building’s energy consumption, by simple virtue of their size, tall buildings use a lot of energy
- With saleable floor space being crucial for development business cases to stack up, developers don’t want large areas of plant wasting space, yet buyers won’t accept anything but the best internal environment
If you look at how high-rise apartment living has developed over the years, while heating systems would be included historically air-conditioning was not a standard fixture. As our climate has started to change and the demands of building users have increased, the expectation is for both heating and cooling. This is far more efficient to do as a single system.
