Townsville Exchange Hotel: Keeping The Beer Cold

Sept. 11, 2012 - PRLog -- The Townsville Exchange Nightclub has under gone an extensive face lift that is not only skin deep.  Through a unique cooperative “design and construct” delivery method. Bede Hampton as the driver of the concept, brought a team together setting the parameters that were to be achieved.   The building has been transformed into a case study for “electrical demand side management,” using ESD initiatives whilst achieving the delivery of modern services and aesthetic appeal for a high profile venue.

THE PROBLEM

Several project drivers made this development challenging and unique.  The project drivers were:-

•   Constrained power supply that was existing at 160 A/ph.  A traditional development (without power supply issues) would draw 320 A/ph according to AS 3000.

•   Cost to upgrade power supply was in excess of $150,000 and several months delay.

•   Townsville’s climate is “Hot and Humid” reflective of the tropical location with a year round requirement for cooling.  Natural ventilation was not practical for a night club with up to 800 patrons.  

•   The new development included a commercial kitchen, four bars / restaurant, beer garden and back-of-house.

Local Developer and Owner Greg Rains appointed an innovative design group headed by Bede Hampton. The team comprising Archtiects – Ryder Hampton; Mechanical Engineers – McClintock Engineering Group; Builder – Reeves Constructions; Mechanical Contractor – Peak ARE and Electrical Contractor – GTL Electrical with a brief to find a solution that provides cold beer and function of the building under 160A/ph power supply.  The solution needed to reflect the design & construct budget constraints versus patron comfort.

THE SOLUTION

The design solution to the above was a combination of a number of initiatives including:-

•   Light weight, heavily insulated construction which was easily achieved with the existing infrastructure.  It was recognized the building use was mainly night time and a light weight structure would release store heat quickly ensuring the building does not store thermal energy for long periods into the night.

•   LP Gas cooking equipment to all kitchen appliances.

•   LP Gas hot water used for kitchen dishwashers and glass washers removing the need for electrical heating from mains power supply.  The high efficiency plant selected saves on operating cost.

•   LED lighting through the whole building supplied by Eco Efficiency Experts Australasia.  These LED fittings were chosen for the quality of the fittings with four year manufacturer’s warranty and 68% energy savings compared with the traditional lighting solution.

•   Central refrigeration plant with the ability to unload.  The power supply to the system is spread over 3-phases.

•   Enthalpy heat recovery systems on the outdoor air introduced to the building saving approximately 70% in energy required to cool the fresh air.

•   Split ducted commercial air conditioning plant with two stage of cooling.  The first stage is a digital inverter scroll compressor with the second stage a standard compressor used for synchronized load shedding.

Building management control system that monitors the power supply to the site and load sheds energy consumption by:-
•   Turn off air curtains.
•   Elevating air conditioning temperatures within the space from 230C to 250C.
•   Drop out second stage of cooling on each air conditioning plant for 10 minute with a synchronized rotation.
•   Ceiling fans have been provided throughout the building to assist with MRT cooling effect with air speed.  This was considered one of the key initiatives in ensuring patron comfort (with cold beer) was achieved.