–Graduate Palo Alto | Hitachi VRF project in CA, USA
VRF
The place: Historic property turned into 100-room hotel with exquisite design
As the 33rd location of the Graduate Hotels portfolio, Graduate Palo Alto is a new landmark hotel located near the world-famous Stanford Campus on University Avenue.
It results from the complete renovation of a 6-story landmark building constructed in 1929, transforming 75 apartment units into a 100 guestroom hotel with 2 dining venues.
The Graduate Palo Alto features superb interior design, blending the original Spanish colonial architecture with a quirky campus-inspired style.
In sunny California, temperatures are often mild, around 75˚F (24˚C). Depending on individual comfort needs and weather conditions, some guests require cooling in their rooms while others need heating.
Before renovation, the building had minimal thermal comfort. The only equipment installed was electric-intensive baseboard heating. Space cooling was completely absent. Adding a powerful cooling and heating system was a must-have for the new Graduate Palo Alto hotel.
One key technical requirement for the new HVAC system, in addition to blending in aesthetically with the outstanding interior design, was to meet the stringent California energy code Title 24 (more information below).
The solution: 13 Hitachi VRF systems provide precise temperature control and save energy in the entire hotel
Choosing fully electrified and efficient space heating and cooling, the entire Graduate Palo Alto hotel building was equipped with Hitachi VRF air conditioning technology. No less than 13 systems were installed before the hotel grand opening.
In the guestrooms, top-flow VRF with heat recovery enables cooling and heating of multiple rooms simultaneously by transferring exhaust heat from the cooling process to rooms that require heating. This results in greater flexibility: each guest can customize the air conditioning and operate cooling or heating in their own room as they wish, without restrictions based on other rooms’ demand. The indoor units consist of in-ceiling mini 4-way and 2-way cassettes, that throw the air flow effectively across all corners of each room.
In the remaining facilities of the hotel, including IT and building equipment rooms, mini VRF units were combined with wall-mounted and ceiling-suspended units.
"With an Integrated Energy Efficiency Ratio (IEER) of 23.9*, Hitachi VRF meets and exceeds T24 and DOE Efficiency Requirements"
Brian Chacon, HVAC consultant, Ascent
All the outdoor units were placed on the hotel’s rooftop. Thanks to their compact size, the hotel had enough space to setup a rooftop bar, making the Graduate Palo Alto the only hotel in the area such a facility.
“In total, over 6,500 feet of refrigerant piping was installed into existing building without existing heating/cooling infrastructure. It was major reconstruction for the hotel, but the expected running cost savings and excellent comfort for guests will help compensate the installation costs. Hitachi VRF has been a great solution for hotel retrofits”.
Brian Chacon, HVAC consultant, Ascent
Distributor: Ascent
Mechanical Engineer: Thomas Yan, P.E., American Mechanical, Inc.
General Contractor: South Bay Construction
Contractor / Installer: American Mechanical, Inc.
What is the California Title 24?
The California Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards are designed to ensure new and existing buildings achieve energy efficiency and preserve outdoor and indoor environmental quality. These measures (Title 24, Part 6) are listed in the California Code of Regulations. Heating and cooling is typically distributed to each of the rooms through air ducts. Most of the Title 24 mandatory measures and prescriptive requirements are based on this type of system.
*IEER of HVAHP096B32S unit.
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Location
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Project
New Built
Date of installation
2022
Total System Capacity
116 tons
Outdoor units
11x Top Flow Heat Recovery System VRF - 2x Mini Side Flow VRF
Indoor units
8x Wall Mount - 5x Ceiling Suspended - 90x Mini Cassettes - 10x Two-Way Cassettes
Distributor
Ascent
Contractor / Installer
American Mechanical
General Contractor
South Bay Construction
