Jun 1, 2023

Eurovent certified Carat chilled beams from Lindab have offered the perfect solution on a carbon neutral project in the heart of Sydney, Australia. When HVAC supplier ACS was brought in to provide an indoor climate solution for the new Metro Martin Place North Tower, Lindab went above and beyond to prove they could rely on the performance of Carat to meet their sustainability goals.

The Metro Martin Place North Tower is set to be a striking addition to the Sydney skyline, as part of the Sydney Metro Martin Place integrated station precinct. The entire project comprises a new underground metro station, two new commercial buildings above the station and retail space. The North Tower offers premium office space, where optimum levels of comfort are key. With the client an early adopter of chilled beam systems in other premises, the technology was an obvious choice for the new building. 

Indoor comfort with proven energy efficiency  

Lindab’s Carat chilled beams offer the natural choice for high-end office buildings. Not only do they offer an excellent level of user comfort, but the Eurovent Certified Performance mark guarantee’s their energy efficiency. Due to the carbon neutral nature of the project, Lindab went a step further to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the units. By testing and evaluating Carat’s performance in possible scenarios such as extreme weather conditions, Lindab proved that the required design conditions could be realised.  

What makes Carat so effective is the unique cold-rolling process used to manufacture the heat-carrying profiles. The process fully encapsulates the water-carrying copper pipes within two thin aluminium heat absorbing sheets. The copper pipe is metallurgically united with the aluminium, ensuring optimised heat transfer. This manufacturing process not only produces a highly effective heat exchanger, it does so with relatively little material. 

The Carat H-84 proposed for the project weighs just 5 kg per metre but provides up to 260 W of cooling per metre, representing over 50 W of cooling per kg of material. This translates to an extremely high 'cooling density' for a passive device. 

With the project aiming for carbon neutrality, it wasn’t just operational performance that had to be considered. Lindab also addressed the issue of packaging and transportation of the product by nesting goods in pairs and loading them onto crates made of sustainable timber. This has contributed to the relatively low use of materials and transport, aiding the project’s low carbon goals. 

Passing the carbon neutral test 

But you don’t just have to take Lindab’s word for it. Carat’s carbon neutrality has been investigated further via The Footprint Company’s Dr Caroline Noller. The Footprint Company (TFC) completed an embodied carbon assessment of the Carat beam, in addition to alternative beam solutions being considered for the project. The results showed that Lindab beams have approximately 50% lower embodied carbon than the competitor alternative, and full offset for carbon neutrality could be achieved for a relatively small cost. 

The assessment also highlighted opportunity for Lindab to further reduce embodied carbon through an increase in recycled materials. Subsequently, Lindab have re-confirmed the use of more recycled material and TFC have generated an updated Carbon Product Declaration for the products. 

In addition, ACS were able to provide a satisfactory solution with a proposal to purchase carbon offsets as necessary to ensure the products are net zero. 

The project demonstrates how Lindab continues to provide industry leading systems by testing and developing products and technology. And further to this, it shows the commitment Lindab have to their core value of helping customers achieve success in reaching their goals and their mission to improve indoor air quality for a better climate. 

Eurovent Certified Performance 

Being able to trust proven energy performance is an important step in specifying products for highly sustainable and innovative projects, such as the Metro Martin Place North Tower. Carat chilled beams are just part of Lindab’s product line-up benefitting from Eurovent Certified Performance. For the HVAC&R professional the added value of choosing a Eurovent certified product includes: 

• Access to transparent, reliable and universally understood performance data  
• The assurance that product data is accurate and has been scientifically tested, to exacting standards, by an expert, independent third-party 
• Assurance that HVAC&R systems will perform as expected, because they are designed on verified, real life performance 
• Knowledge that products are sustainable and can be serviced for years to come as certified products must have spare parts available for 10 years 
• A guarantee that products comply with regulations, standards and codes. 

To search for Lindab certified products, visit the Eurovent certified product directory or visit www.lindab.com.