Predictive HVAC Maintenance at Brisbane's Stuartholme School

The Customer

CoolTimes

Site: Stuartholme School

The System: Daikin VRV Heat Pump

Stuartholme School is an all-girls private high school located in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The site’s HVAC system includes Daikin VRV outdoor units connected to various types of indoor units.

The Challenge

The Stuartholme School campus was suffering from inconsistent climate control, with HVAC systems unable to maintain setpoints. In addition, routine HVAC maintenance was inefficient, time-consuming, and expensive, prompting school management to seek a remote service solution.

Predictive Maintenance at Brisbane’s Stuartholme School

The Solution

𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗛𝗩𝗔𝗖 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲

Using the professional application and its advanced HVAC diagnostic tools, we quickly identified an alarmingly high current reading from the fan driver PCB. This was limiting the machine’s frequency, yet no fault or protection state was activated. After the fan driver’s PCB had been replaced, the rotation speed was 710, and the current draw was appropriate at eight amps.

The Traditional Course of Action

1

Scheduling a site visit

2

Traveling to site

3

Connecting a service tool and waiting on-site for several hours to gather data

4

Lengthy onsite analysis of the raw data

5

Potential consultation with a senior technician

6

Locating the fault

7

Ordering the required parts

8

Returning to the site and applying the fix

9

Returning onsite to re-analyze the data and confirm correct operation

A total of 11 working hours

The CoolAutomation Way

1

Remote diagnostics and historical data review

2

Less than 1 hour of onsite work by a junior VRF technician

3

Remote fix verification

A total of 2 working hours

Benefits

Reduced HVAC energy consumption

Consistent comfort for pupils and staff - less system downtime

Enhanced System longevity via rapid fault identification: ensuring no long-term damage is done to the system

Enhanced service - one vs. multiple service calls

Lower operational costs with no initial call-out fee

Increased HVAC technician productivity

Using CoolAutomation's cloud-based solutions has saved the school countless hours of call outs and labor. By diagnosing the Daikin VRV system remotely and efficiently, senior technicians ensure minimal equipment downtime. CoolTimes has allowed us to set schedules, restrict wall controller operation, set auto heat/cool logic, change over rules and monitor real-time energy consumption. Implementing these control strategies has already brought a downturn in energy and maintenance costs and will presumably see equipment lifespan increased.

Alan Bedford, Facility Manager

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