La Femme Gets a Facelift 

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Air Handling Units

For more information contact:
  
Hans Godden 
hans.godden@flaktwoods.com
+32 52 369 334

One of Brussels’s most characteristic buildings, The Finance Tower, is having a €30 million facelift, and Fläkt Woods Group has won the prestigious contract to supply the building’s air conditioning units.

Located in the heart of Belgium's economic and administrative centre, the 145 m high Finance Tower has 36 storeys and a total floor space of 200.000m². Its distinguishing features of a concrete shaft and steel and glass facade has given the building the nickname 'La Femme'.

FWG will deliver 16 air handling units with hygroscopic heat-recovery wheels and smaller ventilation equipment to HVAC-contractor Cegelec, working for the main contractor Interbuild. The timetable for supplying the products is extremely tight, delivery has started, for completion by the end in the spring of 2007.

Eric Verbeeck Managing Director of Interbuild: "Our main constraint, except for the very high requirements in terms of safety and quality, is the guarantee of result on 31 December 2007. Compliance with deadlines was a decisive factor in the choice of our partners. Bearing in mind this schedule, we have chosen partners in whom we had confidence, who were capable of acting rapidly in the field".

The renovation includes the removal of all the asbestos, and the demolition of everything except the main concrete shaft. When the building is finished, in December 2007, the overall floor area will nearly double in size. The building will offer 60.000m² of office space for the Ministry of Finance, 40.000m² for living arrangements and 20.000m² for hotels, shops and museums. The area around the building is also being transformed into a city hotspot for people to meet.

Expertise in energy saving

Flakt Woods' thermal wheels provide the most efficient method of energy recovery. They will recover up to 90% (typically 75-85%) of the energy in the extract air, and are normally made of aluminium (although other materials are used) which rotate slowly perpendicular to the supply and extract airflows. As the extract air passes through the wheel the heat or 'coolth' transfers into the thermal mass of the wheel. As the wheel turns, it moves into the supply side where the supply air picks up the energy.

The hygroscopic wheels are specially treated so that latent energy is transferred as well as sensible energy. This has the advantage of transferring moisture so that in winter it will add humidity to the supply air and in summer, it will take moisture away from the supply side. In fact, using these wheels alone can reduce the latent load on a chiller if run during summer.

Obviously the major benefits are the highest levels of energy recovery and that they are only 500mm in length with a relatively low airside pressure drop. Because of the high levels of recovery, they generally run at any time of year where there is a temperature differential between ambient air and extract air.

Commenting on the contract win, Hans Godden, Sales Manager for Fläkt Woods Benelux said "Supplying the air handling solutions for a land mark building such as 'La Femme' is of major significance, not only does it affirm our ability to supply superior products, it is also a demonstration of clients confidence in our capability to deliver our products to an extremely tight deadline".