Ability fan coil units were able to overcome the challenges posed by restricted ceiling spaces, and an open to view design brief to specify units that could deliver the cooling loads required, on the first commercial building in the UK to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating.
The JJ Mack building at 33 Charterhouse Street is one of London’s smartest and most sustainable new office buildings. Situated just 150m from Farringdon Station’s Elizabeth Line and close to Smithfield Market, the building takes its name from the original JJ Mack and Sons grocery store, formerly located on the site.
The JJ Mack building blends the past with the present through the use of distinctive design features inspired by its heritage, coupled with market leading technologies chosen to minimise its carbon impact. The result is impressive. After an independent sustainability evaluation by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), it became the UK’s first building to be assessed as BREEAM Outstanding (2018). It also achieved an EPC rating of ‘A’, and that standard is only met by 1.8% of London’s non-domestic properties.
The embodied carbon figure of 816 kg CO2e per square metre is 15% lower than the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) current average design target. The operational carbon emissions will also be nearly 53% lower than the regulated Target Emissions Rate defined in Part L 2013.
Such impressive sustainability credentials could only be realised by the careful specification of materials and construction processes chosen specifically to minimise carbon impact.
When looking for fan coil units that could provide the heating and cooling loads for the 200,000 square feet of office space, Long and Partners, the consulting engineers with the backing of SES, the M&E contractor, selected Ability’s EVO range of fan coil units and met their exacting design and sustainability requirements.
Andre Jonker, Associate Director, L&P Group, comments: “We selected Ability’s EVO range because it is a great product that sets itself apart in the industry with design flexibility and performance capabilities. We were pleased with the outstanding aftercare service Ability design team offered during the specification process.”
The challenges to be overcome when specifying fan coil units
In line with the desire to reflect the heritage of the building in the design, the JJ Mack building incorporates a warehouse-style ceiling comprising criss-crossing exposed beams.
To fit in with the design and performance aspirations, the client required fan coil units that were:
– Exposed to view in line with other building services in the ceiling space
– Able to fit within the space between the ceiling beams
– Designed to meet the acoustic requirements of the office environment
– Able to provide the cooling and heating loads required in an energy efficient manner to match the sustainability focus of the project
To achieve the efficiency required, integrated controls were key. Ability helped specify the controls with L&P Group. The design was centred around the layout and the requirements for the building and its usage.
Why were Ability fan coil units chosen for the project?
The specifiers, L&P Group, working with the specialist sub-contractor SES, chose Ability to supply fan coil units for the project due to Ability’s wide-ranging industry expertise and product portfolio.
Andre continues: “A holistically designed solution was key to achieving the desired energy and efficiency ratings and in Ability, we found a partner that worked with us closely and offered support throughout the design process of the solution, as well as support with the unique design of the controls for this project.”
The cooling load, size limitations and acoustic requirements for the office space all needed to be met if the proposed solution was to meet the challenges posed by the project.
Ability evaluated the dimensions of the exposed fan coil units required to meet the cooling load and the preferred option was not open to them due to the restricted space between the beams. A specification was therefore proposed to use smaller fan coil units that would fit between the beams.
The offices would have one fan coil unit every 6m to serve a space up to 4.5m deep in the perimeter zone, whilst one fan coil unit would serve 50 to 70 square metres in the internal zone. The smaller fan units would be able to run at a lower power level, utilising variable air volume, and still supply the cooling loads required.
A report on the required office sound power levels from acoustics consultant Sandy Brown was used to confirm that specifying the smaller exposed fan coil units did not compromise the acoustic comfort requirements of the office. Their average reduced power load delivered energy saving advantages, lowering operational carbon and smaller units also added less embodied carbon matching the sustainability ambitions of this prestigious building.
Troy Chambers, technical sales manager for Ability, adds: “After assessing the cooling loads and acoustic requirements we were able to select the best fan coil from our extensive range to meet both the design and performance brief of the client and help deliver a truly outstanding and sustainable building.”
This resonates with Andre: “I am truly pleased with this project. The JJ Mack Building to date is one of the UK’s smartest and most sustainable office buildings. The building deservedly won ‘Project Design of the Year’ at the London Construction Awards 2023. Ability Projects played a big role in the design of the HVAC solution that utilises the EVO range of fan coil units and their support has been outstanding throughout.”
If you would like to find out how the Ability by Dimplex range of fan coil units could help meet the cooling and heating demands of your project, contact one of its experienced team for advice and guidance.
Image credits: Top and bottom – Helical. Middle – Ability.
