Exceptional services for children’s home

Swanwick Lodge is a purpose built facility providing care for children aged between 10 and 17 years of age and for two consecutive years it has scored an Outstanding Ofsted rating.

An exceptional establishment needs exceptional services, and when the existing heating and cooling system needed replacing LG’s new Multi V III was installed, a brand new product to the market. The £1/2 million project was won by mechanical contractor ARB Mechanical Engineering. ARB contracts manager Rob Henderson and project manager Jay Kirby then called in DX Engineering Solutions to undertake the installation.

Flagship product

Multi V III is LG’s flagship VRF product and it offered three important key benefits – higher energy efficiency, larger capacity and longer piping design. It also promised whisper quiet operation.

LG’s third generation VRF solution, it is the result of major investment in research and development. It offers many technological advances over previous models as well as featuring many useful USPs not currently found elsewhere in the market place.  A complete re-engineering of the compressor has increased COP by up to 11%. In addition, LG’s patented HiPOR (high pressure oil return) on its own improves the system’s COP by up to 5%. The replacement of the AC motor with a BLDC inverter motor also improves efficiency.

Installation costs were reduced due to savings offered through the innovations of Multi V III. Cost savings on a 20hp unit are delivered due to reduced labour and transportation costs, ie there is only one outdoor unit to crane into place rather than two and as a result piping is also reduced, all of which results in up to a 30% cost reduction for a 20hp installation. Multi V III also offers a 38% reduced footprint.                                                                                                                     

Working on the design concept established by Hampshire County Council’s in-house engineering team, LG’s technical department developed the initial design. The team, led by the County Council’s engineers and comprising LG’s technical department and Elementa Consulting, then brought the project through from detailed design to installation on site. 

Easy installation

The installation had its own specific requirements as the installer would have to work in phases around the needs of the facility and those of the young residents. The job itself was scheduled over 16-20 weeks.

Kevin Reynolds, Air Conditioning Contracts and Sales Manager at DX says: “We have installed many VRF systems, this job was just one of many, and without a shadow of a doubt we will now be offering our clients the LG Multi V III option. It is good value for money and considerable energy savings can be made. We found the system to be very easy to install, and the engineers were very pleased with the equipment. The longer external pipe runs (up to 100m) were a considerable benefit.

“This job required good planning and we had to make sure that we didn’t have any noise issues as it is very close to a residential properties – Multi V III enabled us to do this.”

Jay Kirby of ARB Mechanical Engineering says: “The project was very successful with both the centre and the client (HCC) very happy with ARB and the sub contractor’s performance. The programme was extremely tight with penalty clauses if it wasn’t completed on time. However we planned the project well and handed over on the day requested.”

Swanwick Lodge was one of the first UK LG Multi V III installations and the feedback on the installation and the service received from LG has been extremely positive.