Aurora Place: HVAC overhaul funded by Energy Savings Certificates

• Case Studies
• May 14, 2025
• Northmore Gordon

“The Northmore Gordon team spent a great deal of time gathering the information, which was made all

the more difficult due to COVID 19. Their diligence enabled a fantastic outcome for Aurora Place. The

measurement and verification process allowed us to validate the energy savingsElectricity or gas savings or both. of the project which

confirmed the decision to replace our equipment. The revenue from the energy savings certificates

allowed us to invest in further developments at Aurora Place”.

– Duncan Demol, National DC Faclities Manager costs reducing the payback.

The Client

Aurora Place, is a premium grade commercial building, with over 70 high profile tenants ranging from financial, law and health related industries. The commerical tower features 18 levels and is 49,400m2 bounded by Phillip Street, Bent Street and Macquaries Street. It is an iconic site, featuring in the Sydney Skyline, clearly visible from the famous Sydney Harbour.

Key Facts

Equipment Upgraded: HVACHeating, ventilation, and air conditioning is the technology of indoor and vehicular environmental comfort. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. Chiller System, Chillers, VSDVariable Speed Drive

Annual Savings Energy: 309,000 kWh

Project Certificate Value: $46,000

Program: NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESSThe NSW Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) provides financial incentives to install, improve or replace energy savings equipment and appliances in NSW households and businesses. The ESS was established in 2009. Financial incentives are in the form of tradeable certificates, called energy savings certificates (ESCs). Generally, householders and businesses who fund energy savings activities transfer the right to create ESCs to Accredited Certificate Providers (ACPs) in return for a discount on the cost of the energy savings activity.  The MWh savings from the project determines the number of ESCs that can be created. The ESS works by allowing ACPs to create and register ESCs for energy savings that are supported with appropriate evidence. ESCs are then purchased each year by mainly electricity retailers operating in NSW to meet their share of a legislated annual energy savings target.)

Method: Project Based Activities (PIAM&VProject Impact Assessment with Measurement and Verification)

The Project

Aurora Place determined an energy efficiency project was going to be a beneficial and rewarding course of action. The project involved a full overhaul of the site’s HVAC chiller system which included the replacement of 5 existing chillers, base building cooling tower upgrades, variable speed drive (VSD) replacement on chilled water and condenser water pumps, upgrades to the outside air variable control and hot water coil bypass dampers. In addition to works on various air handling units. The creation of ESCs for this project provided more revenue to further improve the performance of the building. The M&V work done during the ESCAn energy savings certificate (ESC) is a tradeable certificate created under Division 7 of Part 9 of the Electricity Supply Act 1995. Each ESC represents one notional megawatt hour (MWh) of energy. creation process also allowed Northmore Gordon to monitor the energy savings as a result of the project.

Challenges

• Aging equipment could impact reliability
• M&V process discovered fault in control system
• Energy bills represent a substantial cost to data centre operators
• Aging equipment could impact reliability

Additional Benefits

• Reduction in energy consumption
• Upgraded to a more eco friendly product
• Chillers provider a greater range and configuration improving the cooling capability of the building

Our Role

Northmore Gordon created energy savings certificates (ESCs) using M&V methodologies on the site consumption before and after the implementation of the HVAC works. Northmore Gordon completed the measurement & verification (M&V) plan, collected site data & supporting evidence, and built the baseline and operating energy models to calculate the energy savings. Northmore Gordon also provided Aurora Place with price certainty to ensure the customer received the payment they had forecast.

For more information contact: c.morgan@northmoregordon.com

Industry

Commercial

Location

Sydney, Australia

Shan Nanayakkara

Senior Energy Engineer

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