About 12 gas powered air conditioning units (GPAC) from Origin Energy are helping the University of NSW (UNSW) save significantly on energy costs.
The UNSW has close to 40,000 students, with the main campus located on a 38-hectare site at Kensington, seven kilometres from the centre of Sydney. Currently, UNSW has approximately a dozen gas powered air conditioning units installed throughout the campus.
The campus was facing site power problems and was seeking a solution for upgrading their systems.
According to Ray Filetti, University Engineer, the University was initially introduced to the concept of gas powered air conditioning systems at a trade fair and was offered a demonstration model for trial.
With the trial system delivering on all the benefits promised, the University went on to purchase and install close to a dozen additional units.
In addition to addressing their site power problems, a key appeal of the GPAC units was the lower energy costs. In addition to saving on electricity costs, the University has also been able to avoid upgrading their electricity supply, which would have been a necessary and expensive exercise if they had opted for the electric units.
That the campus has been able to lower its CO2 emissions is an additional bonus, says Ray.
UNSW has found the gas powered air conditioning equipment to be reliable in hot as well as cold weather and recommends the systems to other organisations needing to upgrade their reverse cycle air conditioning systems.
