The cross-department Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Working Group fostered this approach and adopted the term ‘Platforms’.
It's worth noting that cooling towers range in height from 4 to 8m tall compared to up to 3m of height for DAC and HDAC, which helps to improve the capacity of the cooling tower.. DEC & IAC units:.While achieving low approach temperatures, their heat rejection capacity per unit volume is typically lower.
This is because they rely solely on air cooling, and air has a lower specific heat capacity than water.. HDAC units:.These units present a trade-off between approach temperature and capacity per unit volume.The graph shows both operating modes of the same size HDAC unit providing two different heat rejection capacities.. Air-cooled chiller (Free Cooling):.
This option is included in the graph, but the chiller size is at a disadvantage because it incorporates additional components beyond just the heat unit (chiller) such as evaporators, compressors, condensers, and, in some cases, a CHW pump.However, some air-cooled chillers achieve results comparable to dry air coolers.. All adiabatic plants require water treatment equipment and water storage, which, based on the installation and resilience required, can be considerable.
However, these have a lower priority to be situated adjacent to the equipment and can be located elsewhere on site..
Emergence of Liquid Cooling.Ultimately, we suspect that over time buildings will become flexible configurations of components, rather than large, fixed assets.
We may end up creating loose-fit superstructures.The superstructure contains the majority of the embodied carbon in a building.
We could design these for a 100-year total life span, while the use of standardised components would make an interior refit possible every five to ten years.In its initial configuration a building might function as an office block, but components could be taken out and the building changed into a residential building or school.