Air conditioning goes Underground
Deep inside Paddington Underground Station, the long pipe runs possible with Mitsubishi Electric VRF air-conditioning are helping to keep ticket-office staff cool
The problem of providing adequate cooling for the Lawn ticket office in Paddington Underground station has been solved by the longer pipe runs possible, up to 110 m, with Mitsubishi Electric’s City Multi Y-Series VRF air-conditioning system. The Lawn ticket office, so named because it used to have a green marble floor, is deep inside the station’s labyrinth of underground corridors and has always had a problem getting adequate cooling. Colin Kenny, Metronet Rail’s asset performance equipment mechanical maintenance engineer, explains, ‘In summer, it can get hot underground and for the staff who are there all day, it is essential that we provide them with the best year-round cooling so that they can carry on helping the public. Metronet is responsible for maintaining and renewing two-thirds of the Underground system. The equipment was installed by Iceberg Building Services of Wickford in Essex, an approved installer for London Underground, and needed Section 12 approval for fire safety following requirements brought in after the King’s Cross in 1987. Few air-conditioning system are approved to this standard, which demands different casing and parts to normal systems. The system provides a constant 19°C and is managed by a G50 controller that allows Colin Kenny to control it over the Internet. One outdoor condensing units serves four indoor units.
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