Dancing until it gets light 

New air treatment system Nightclub Escape provides more comfort and lower energy consumption 

Nightclub Escape on the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam was recently equipped with a new air handling system, providing visitors with more comfort and significantly reducing energy consumption. Both the engineering and replacement were carried out by Airco HP, which awarded the supply of the air handling units to Systemair.

"Escape nightclub's air handling units dated back to 1986 and had reached the end of their technical lifespan," says Jasper van den Heuvel, owner of Airco HP. "The owner of the nightclub therefore asked us to make a replacement proposal, with an eye for sustainability and energy efficiency and also allowing for pretreatment of fresh outside air (cooling and heating). We conducted a zero measurement of the existing installation on site. We also mapped out the client's wishes, the technical possibilities of the building and the boundary conditions of the location, on the basis of which the engineering was started." This soon involved Systemair. "We approached three suppliers to make an offer for the new air handling units," says Patrick van de Brug, specialist Ventilation Technology, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps at Airco HP. "Systemair turned out to be the only supplier that could supply units that matched the customer requirements and what we ourselves envisioned."

Limited space

"We were approached by Airco HP in November 2022, to work out a replacement proposal with heat recovery," says Ron Gijsbertsen, Account Manager at Systemair. "Together with Jasper and Patrick, I evaluated the existing situation, requirements and preconditions, where the limited spaces on the roof in particular created challenges. Moreover, we were dealing with an adjacent house. On my advice, for example, the largest air handling unit was installed rotated compared to its predecessor, so that less roof duct work was required. This also reduces noise transmission to the adjacent building."

Ventilation based on negative pressure

In total, Systemair recommended and delivered four Geniox air handling units: one supply unit of 28,500 m3/h, two supply units of 17,000 m3/h and a return unit of 26,000 m/h. "The supply units are equipped with a filter, which eliminates fine dust and other contaminants from the outdoor air sucked in," Gijsbertsen said. "Then the air is pretreated by the fan and DX coil before it is blown into the rooms. The return unit draws in used indoor air and exhausts it outside, creating negative pressure in the rooms. On this basis, sufficient conditioned fresh air automatically flows in."

Significant energy savings

All Geniox units feature an energy-efficient fan (0-10 Volt), which can be controlled according to CO2 content, room temperatures or time, as desired. "Thanks to its own control, CO2 and temperature sensors, the fresh outside air can be pre-treated demand-controlled," Gijsbertsen says. "Clock programs are also possible." Van de Brug: "The owner of Escape has chosen to switch the air handling units on, off and on by themselves, depending on how busy the nightclub is. This can save a lot of energy." All units use refrigerant R32, with a relatively low Global Warming Potential (675).

Tight planning, challenging logistics

A condition in this project was that the work be done between Sunday night and Thursday afternoon so that the nightclub could remain open on peak days, Van de Brug says. "To make this possible, the existing ductwork in the nightclub was retained as much as possible. Fortunately, the existing ductwork proved adequate enough for the new installation to function properly." Because of its location on Rembrandtplein, all existing air handling units had to be removed and all new units installed in one complete lifting session. "We started the lifting operations at 0:30 a.m. and had to pull out all the stops to be ready by 6:00 a.m.," says Van den Heuvel. "Because we were not allowed to drive into town with all the units at once, we made a careful transport planning in consultation with our lifting partner Modern Berging. In the preliminary phase, our implementation team made sure that all the existing installation had been cooled down. In addition, electrical partner RDM Techniek had already prepared all the power supplies for the new installation. As a result, once the units were positioned and connected on the air side, we were able to provide the electrical connection immediately." Because the new situation involves working with conditioned air, Meurs Insulation and Montage insulated and finished the roof ductwork. To keep speed in the project, Airco HP worked in shifts. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries air-to-air heat pumps were connected to each supply unit.

In September, Airco HP and Systemair jointly handled the commissioning, with Systemair's technicians setting all the parameters. From temperatures to air volumes.