Industrial Visit to Orion Mall, Panvel

Total Number of Students	10 Students
Total Number of Faculty Members	02
Course	Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
Date of Visit	30th March, 2024
Industry Visited	Orion Mall, Panvel Address: Plot no: 311, Orion Mall, near ST Bus Depot, Forest Colony, Panvel, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 410206

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pillai HOC College of Engineering and Technology (PHCET), Rasayani arranged an industrial visit for students of third year mechanical engineering to:
Orion Mall, Panvel
Address: Plot no: 311, Orion Mall, near ST Bus Depot, Forest Colony, Panvel, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 410206

On 30th March 2024. A group of 12 members (10 students and 02 faculty members) participated in this event.

Orion Mall, Panvel has a 4 Lakh sq.ft. carpet area and is spread over 3 floors. It uses water cooled packaged and ducted split air conditioners for major applications. The total cooling capacity is approximately 1100 Ton of Refrigeration.

Air Conditioning System: 2 types of air conditioning systems are used

1. water cooled packaged and ducted split air conditioners
2. VRF system

• Water cooled packaged and ducted split air conditioners

  In these packaged air conditions the condenser is cooled by the water. The condenser is of shell and tube type, with refrigerant flowing along the tube side and the cooling water flowing along the shell side. The water has to be supplied continuously in these systems to maintain functioning of the air conditioning system.

  The shell and tube type of condenser is compact in shape and it is enclosed in a single casing along with the compressor, expansion valve, and the air handling unit including the cooling coil or the evaporator. This whole packaged air conditioning unit externally looks like a box with the control panel located externally.

  In the packaged units with the water cooled condenser, the compressor is located at the bottom along with the condenser (refer the figure below). Above these components the evaporator or the cooling coil is located. The air handling unit consisting of the centrifugal blower and the air filter is located above the cooling coil. The centrifugal blower has the capacity to handle the large volume of air required for cooling a number of rooms. From the top of the package air conditioners the duct comes out that extends to the various rooms that are to be cooled.

• VRF system

  VRF stands for variable refrigerant flow. VRF is a ductless, large-scale system for HVAC that performs at a high capacity. Unlike split AC equipment, VRF allows multiple indoor units to run on the same system, which is designed differently depending on the application.

  VRF systems obtain their high efficiency through the use of inverter compressors. Inverter systems allow the compressor to ramp up or down based on the needs within each space. A non-inverter system ramps up the compressor at full capacity all the time. Essentially it’s either on or off. With inverter systems operating at lower speeds and capacity, the efficiency gains can be substantial.

  This versatility means VRF products are customizable to meet the specifications of virtually any project, making them particularly appealing for commercial spaces and facility managers.