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The Fremont Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV, depends on a
comfortable indoor environment tokeep its patrons happy and its
bottom line healthy. W ith an aging HVAC system and minimal
automa-tion, cooling w as inefficient at best and at worst, ineff
ective. Five chillers and three cooling towersw ere spread over
three central plants, serving different parts of the facilit y, wi
th no communicationbetw een them. W hats more, maintenance costs
were increasing dramatically as the equipmentgot older and three of
the existing chillers used R-11, an ozone-depleting
refrigerant.
Carrier combined technical ingenuity, efficient equipment and
automated system controls t omodernize, consolidate and
dramatically improve the delivery of conditioned air at t he
Fremont.Power consumption was reduced by approximately 10%, saving
more than $100,000 annually.And with the reliable performance of
the new system, maintenance costs were slashed by 61%,saving
$30,000 annually. The unique installati on created a primary/
secondary pumping loop fromthe existing constant flow piping
system. Carrier provided three Evergreen 19XR chillers,
variablefrequency drives for eff icient part-load operation, and
the Carrier Comfort Netw ork (CCN) withComfortWORKS.
Carrier Automation Wins Big for Las Vegas
Hotel/Casino Saving Over $130,000 Per Year
Case Study Fremont Hotel and CasinoCase Study Fremont Hotel and
Casino
AIRSIDE/APPLIED/CONTROLS/ SERVICE/SPECIAL SOLUTION/ TOTAL
SYSTEM/UNITARY
EDUCATION/HEALTH
CARE/LODGING/MANUFACTURING/OFFICEBUILDING/RETAIL/SPECIAL
Project Objectives
Solution
M aintenance costs were slashed by 61% w ith new Carrier HVAC
systems.
Maintenance
Cost Comparison
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200 0 Car ri er Co rpo rat ion 08/ 00 811- 0002
Case Study Fremont Hotel and Casino
AIRSIDE/APPLIED/CONTROLS/ SERVICE/SPECIAL SOLUTION/ TOTAL
SYSTEM/UNITARY
EDUCATION/HEALTH CARE/ LODGING
/MANUFACTURING/OFFICEBUILDING/RETAIL/SPECIAL
For more information, contact your nearest Carrier
Representative, call 1.800.CARRIER or visit our web site at
www.carrier.com
Project Summary
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Building Age: 45 years
Project Type: Retrofit
Building Type/Size:Cantilevered concrete structure,tw o tow ers:
f ive-story, 14-story
Building Usage: Hotel/casino
Objectives: Upgradeequipment; increase system
efficiency; replace R-11refrigerant
Major Decision Drivers:Equipment age; operating
costs;maintenance costs
HVAC Equipment: Three model19XR Evergreen chillers;
CCN;ComfortWORKS
Design Considerations:Consolidation f rom three
central plants; automation;first costs; minimal dow ntime during
installation
Unique Features: Adaptedexisting system to primary/secondary
loop, using variable-flow chil ler pumps; equipmentinstallation
underground, throughtunnel
Project Cost Range:$1 mil l ion to $5 mil l ion
Installation Date: CompletedJune 1999
The Fremont Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, NV, had a spraw ling
chil led w ater system, spread over threecentral plants. The
equipment ranged in age from 15 to 46 years old and there was no
automat ion norcommunication betw een components. In addition to
ozone-depleting R-11 refrigerant and inefficientoperation, building
managers were concerned with escalating maintenance costs and
worried aboutsystem failure. The Nevada gaming commission estimates
that a casino would lose an average of $10,000per hour if unable to
provide a comfortable atmosphere for its patrons. Carriers solution
reduced powerconsumption, saving more than $100,000 annually, while
i ncreasing reliabil i ty. W ith the improved perform-ance of the
new system, maintenance costs w ere slashed by 61% , saving $30,000
per year. The installa-tion was completed with just three days of
cooling system downtime.
W ith a 20-year service relationship, Fremont managers relied on
Carriers technical expertise to f ind acreative and cost-effective
system solution. Because the existing system had been expanded over
theyears, no accurate plans existed of the piping and valve
locations. There w as no way to have a 100%understanding unti l w e
started, so as we discovered more about the system, w e had to make
changes onthe fly, said Dan M cGinty, Carrier project manager. This
called for f lexibil i ty, as well as a solid relation-ship betw
een Carrier and the Fremont. Success required trust, commitment and
expertise on both sidesand Fremont f acil i ty director Dave Foster
exemplif ied all of these.
Carrier replaced the five existing chil lers w ith t hree high
eff iciency 600-ton Evergreen 19XR chillers,w hich use
chlorine-free, non-ozone depleting R-134a refrigerant. Their
bolt-together construction allow edinstallation in a new central
plant, which w as constructed in a basement area accessible only by
a tunnel,making equipment size a crit ical issue.
Carriers creative engineering approach converted the existing
constant f low piping system to a primary/
secondary loop. Variable freque ncy drives (VFDs) w ere used on
the chill er pumps to create variable flowfrom the chil lers, in
effect using them as building pumps. The cost to change the
Fremonts system to atypical primary/secondary system w as prohibit
ive. W e were able to capture much of the benefit w ithoutadding to
the cost of the job, said M cGinty.
The primary/secondary loop greatly increased efficiency,
especially at part- load conditions, matching chil leroperation to
varying building conditions. Automat ion w as achieved wi th
control valves, automatic equip-ment starts/ stops and additional
VFDs on the cooling tower fans. The system is managed w ith the
CarrierComfort Netw ork (CCN) and Comfo rtW ORKS. The result is an
efficient, cost-effective cooling system thatkeeps the Fremonts
patrons comfortable year-round and racks up savings for the
buildings ow ners.
Project Synopsis
Our solution was to adaptthe existing systems to a
primary/secondary loop. Byunderstanding our equip-
ment and the application,w e gained virtually all
the efficiencies of a newprimary/ secondary system,
w ith a very competit ive f irstcost and minimal disruption
to the hotel s operations.
Dan McGinty,project manager,
Carrier CommercialSystems & Services
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