Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation Headquarters

PREVIOUS SITUATION

Built in 2000, the twenty-year old commercial building that housed Nissan’s financing headquarters was aging and its HVAC system was failing. The original Trane equipment broke down so often that “hot calls” were a daily occurrence. The self contained units, cooling towers, and building automation were malfunctioning. Furthermore, the building’s existing automation system was not working, so all this fragile and unreliable equipment had to be managed by hand. The net result was an unreliable system that required constant supervision and generated frequent service calls.

However, the three-story building’s layout made it almost impossible to replace the old equipment. The walls were made of tilt wall concrete panels and the mechanical rooms were in the core of the building, both of which made access incredibly challenging.

DESIRED SITUATION

In order for the building to be brought up to current code so that Nissan’s lease could be renewed, large capital improvements were essential. The goal was to replace the aging HVAC system with modernized, low-maintenance systems that would last at least twenty years and function well without constant manual interventions to maintain comfort.

The tenant had to be able to remain in place while renovations were carried out throughout the entire building. The Nissan facility was an active administrative office as well as a secure site that required strict access coordination, including the use of badges and sign-in registration, to adhere to Nissan’s security protocols.

SOLUTION PROVIDED BY APPLIED CLIMATE

This renovation demonstrates Applied Climate’s exceptional ability to provide turnkey design-build solutions for even the most complex projects. In addition to carrying out a comprehensive overhaul of the building’s HVAC system, Applied Climate designed and executed a wide range of supplemental mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural installation work, including breaker and panel box evaluation and modernization to rectify electrical code compliance issues; the installation of condensate lines and condenser loops to repair fatigue and prevent leaks; and upgrades to fire life safety systems, including the installation of a new fire alarm system throughout the building.

The project began with a comprehensive structural review, followed by the development of mechanical, engineering, plumbing, and structural designs for replacing 1100 tons of self-contained units. The focus of the mechanical and engineering designs was the development of modular equipment to overcome the barriers posed by the building’s design. Not only did equipment have to be broken down into smaller parts to facilitate installation, but subsequent maintenance and troubleshooting procedures also had to be simplified to work within ongoing access constraints.

The most challenging part of the project was the mapping and execution of a detailed process for guiding the new equipment to its final destination in the hard-to-access mechanical rooms. First, twelve 11,000-lb self-contained units were partially disassembled. Then, large glass windows were removed from the first floor facade to provide an entry point for the equipment. Once it was inside the building, the components were hoisted on custom-built stairwell lifts to the mechanical rooms on the second and third floors, where they were “skated” into place using a temporary rigging system. Applied Climate then contracted with expert commercial glazers to replace the removed windows, as well as with drywall and painting contractors to restore any areas affected by the movement of equipment.

As part of the installation, ACS also refurbished the cooling towers, replacing the fill medium and valve actuators, the fan motors, the gear boxes, and the basin heaters. As a result of these upgrades, the towers will last another 15 years.

Once all the new and upgraded equipment was installed, the next step was to install a completely new Building Automation System (BAS) to replace the obsolete original control system. The new BAS provides optimized controls strategies to improve system performance and reduce operating costs. As with the installation, the migration to the new system had to be done while the building was occupied. To ensure tenant comfort throughout the project, ACS provided temporary cooling systems to bridge any gaps in functionality.

The final step in the renovation phase of the project was rigorous but highly efficient testing and calibration. Fire and life safety testing were fast-tracked and were completed in only two weeks. Water, air, and cooling tower flows were measured prior to the installation to provide baseline numbers, and were then re-measured after the installation for comparison. The results for all metrics, including air flow and tonnage, exceeded projections. The fully-functioning system was commissioned and tested by a third party company, and then was “retro-commissioned” six months later as an additional quality control measure. This unusual extra step, in which the steps of the commissioning process are carried out again on an already-operating system, allows for proactive adjustments and fine-tuning to ensure optimal performance.

In the ongoing maintenance phase of the project, Applied Climate will carry out routine inspections and preventative servicing to keep systems operating at peak efficiency and foster a long-term relationship with the building operations team.

This project was one of the most complex ever carried out by Applied Climate Solutions, not only because of the technical challenges it posed but also because it required logistical coordination with an outside general contractor and a wide range of expert subcontractors. The ACS team managed a competitive bidding process at the start of the project and continued to liaise with the selected contractors throughout the renovations.

The ACS team also went above and beyond to ensure tenant comfort and satisfaction with the project. In addition to providing temporary cooling systems to support the legacy equipment during the transition period, the Applied Climate team also took the unusual step of doing a morning and afternoon walk-through with Nissan’s staff to update them on progress and discuss any issues. As a result of this careful relationship management, Applied Climate was able to carry out logistically-challenging work in a tightly-controlled facility with no delays to the project timeline.

The large scope of this project has yielded equally substantial rewards. Not only has a long-term tenant been able to remain in the building in far greater comfort than ever before, but the building’s overall energy efficiency has also been increased by 40%. In addition, with the help of the Applied Climate team, the building’s owner was able to secure a significant energy rebate.