Smurfit Kappa

Europe’s leading corrugated packaging company, Smurfit Kappa Group, has recently refurbished its headquarters in Dublin. Alongside a new, modern and stylish interior, the building also benefits from heating and cooling solutions by Panasonic.

Smurfit Kappa Group decided to undertake a major refurbishment of the property and wanted to fully upgrade the interior as well as the building services for this unique 1970s built office block.

Local installer, Tech Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, alongside consultant Ethos Engineering, have created a comprehensive, energy efficient and cost effective heating and cooling solution that features 81 indoor concealed ducted units, four GHP (gas heat pump) outdoor units, and 6 PACi systems from Panasonic.

One of the key air conditioning design issues that the project team had to face was the lack of mains power available on site. This presented some challenges, but an innovative solution was agreed: the project would use Panasonic’s innovative GHP system. Being mainly powered by gas, a GHP system will deliver low running costs, reduce CO2 emissions and equally important for this particular project, eliminate the need for an expensive electricity supply upgrade that an alternative solution would require.

Panasonic’s GHP range is extensive and leads the way in efficiency and versatility, being especially suitable for those commercial projects where power restrictions apply.

Jim Weldon of Tech Refrigeration & Air Conditioning was delighted with how the project team worked together to deliver a first class, innovative solution for a blue chip client: “This was a prestigious project to be involved in, as Smurfit Kappa is an internationally renowned brand. As such, the challenge for the whole team was to make sure a suitably high spec system was created,” he comments. “I think we achieved that with everyone playing their part, all topped off by the advanced Panasonic GHP technology which ensured all our project goals and challenges were met.”

While there was the mains power issue, the urban location of the Smurfit Kappa building also meant that any noise produced by the system condensers would need to be kept to a minimum. Tech Refrigeration & Air Conditioning was able to reassure the client that Panasonic GHP runs as quietly as any equivalent system that is powered by electricity. Furthermore, running cost comparisons were drawn up by Panasonic Ireland and the favourable results were a critical factor in the specification process.

Smurfit Kappa, alongside many forward-thinking businesses, wanted to ensure that carbon emissions would be tackled in a positive way. The project team was able to highlight how much energy would be saved using GHP, with a resulting 30% less carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

The system is also extremely user-friendly and on-site staff take advantage of the Panasonic centralised controller to closely monitor use and management of the system around the building. Functionality includes a diagnostic health check of all systems and associated controllers. In fact, the intuitive, user friendly nature of the controller, has been remarked upon by the client.

The project has been such a success that it has recently been awarded a Panasonic PRO Award for Best Contribution of Efficient Projects within Europe.