case study

case study
Solutions for High Heat Loads
Located 12 miles northwest of
downtown Boston, this 2-story,
62,000-square-foot Class A office
building is on Mall Road, between the
Burlington Mall and the Lahey Clinic.
Built in the early 1980s, 3 New England
Executive Park is one of a 13-building
master-planned office park on 56 acres
totaling more than one million square
feet of Class A office space.
Project Description
In spring 2004, Sona Laser Centers,
Inc. leased 10,000 square feet on the
first floor. A pioneer in the laser hair
removal industry, Sona is a franchise
operation with centers from coast
to coast. Because of unusually high
heat loads caused by the personal
care laser equipment, the heating and
air-conditioning requirements were
substantial.
Critical Design Challenge for 10
Personal Care Rooms
To combat Sona’s high heat loads, the
building’s property manager contacted
Peter Donati, ABCO Refrigeration,
Somerville, Mass., for assistance. Donati
saw the opportunity for installing a
new cooling and heating technology.
The Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF)
zoning system by Mitsubishi Electric
Cooling and Heating Solutions,
Suwanee, Ga., seemed ideal for this
application because it would allow Sona
to provide each individual space with
its own personalized, zoned comfort
system. Donati contacted Consulting
Engineer James Avitabile, Commercial
Construction Consulting, Inc. (C3),
Boston.
A Timely, Innovative Solution for
Sona Laser Centers, Inc.
“As soon as I inspected the Sona
space and discovered the structural,
architectural and zoning restrictions
of this building, Peter and I knew
that Mitsubishi Electric would be a
great solution for this job. Because
of its ability for ductless installation,
its unique, patented INVERTER
technology and personalized zone
comfort system, I knew this was
the perfect application. No other
manufacturer could supply these
features and I started immediately
on the application design,” Avitabile
said. For the 10,000-square-foot
Sona Center, Avitabile designed all
the piping, coil units and wiring. He
specified two PUHY 100,000 Btu/h
compressor units to be installed on
the roof. He then ran the refrigerant
piping and wiring down a convenient
interior column to Sona’s first floor
space. For the interior rooms, Avitabile
specified five wall-mounted PKFY
20,000 Btu/h air-handling units, and
five wall-mounted PKFY 32,000 Btu/h
air-handling units.
Project Name
New England Executive
Park
Project Location
Burlington, Mass.
Completion Date
September 2004
The Team
Owner
Equity Properties, Inc.,
Boston, Mass.
HVAC Distributor
ABCO Refrigeration,
Somerville, Mass.
Consulting
Engineer
Commercial Construction
Consulting, Boston, Mass.
HVAC Contractor
F.A. Williams, Inc.,
Belmont, Mass.
HVAC Installation
National Mechanical
Services, Melrose, Mass.
September 2010
case study
Excellent Engineering and
Technology: Like Clockwork
ABCO Refrigeration worked with
National Mechanical Services, Melrose,
Mass., for the proper system start up.
After the 10-day VRF zoning system
installation and start up, 38-year HVAC
and electrical engineering veteran
Charles R. Shiner, president, National
Mechanical Services, said, “This
equipment is extremely well engineered.
I’ve seen nothing like it here in New
England. To my knowledge, there is
no other manufacturer that can touch
this technology. In fact, next week, I am
sending my lead technician to Atlanta
to be trained on the VRF zoning system
by Mitsubishi Electric HVAC. And I
am going to follow him to Atlanta in
January. I’ve been looking for this kind
of innovation for years. What’s really
impressive is the excellent engineering
on the variable speed compressor: it
works like clockwork. What’s more, one
can hold a normal conversation standing
right next to the compressor —the
sound levels are that good!”
Mitsubishi Electric Equipment Installed
(2) PUHY – 100TMU-A Y-Series Outdoor Unit
(5) PKFY 20,000 BTU Wall-mounted Air Handlers
(5) PKFY 23,000 BTU Wall-mounted Air Handlers
Mitsubishi Electric provided Sona Laser Centers with a solution to combat the high heat loads in the personal care rooms. All 10 rooms now have their own personalized,
zoned comfort system.