Time & Life Building
Modernization Refrigeration Plant
New York, NY

Rockefeller Group Management desired to upgrade the central plant at the 40-year-old Time & Life Building at Rockefeller Center to reduce the facility's operating costs. The building was originally designed with a 4,200-ton chilled water plant located in the cellar, consisting of two steam turbine driven refrigeration machines and one electric drive refrigeration machine, for the fan rooms serving the lower half of the building. The 2,650-ton plant, consisting of two steam turbine driven refrigeration machines located on the 47th floor, served the fan rooms located on the 36th and 48th floors.

AKF designed two 1,850-ton parallel drive refrigeration machines (electric/gas), one 2,100-ton electric drive refrigeration machine and one 1,500-ton steam turbine driven refrigeration machine.

Cost savings were achieved by the deletion of the secondary pumps and the design of a variable speed primary pumping system for chilled water distribution.

AKF is currently upgrading the plant again with new state-of-the-art systems with variable speed electric chiller drive lines and variable speed pump and cooling tower optimizations.

Services: MEP/F Engineering; BMS; Testing; Infrastructure Design

Special Attributes: One of the first tri-bred plants that uses steam, gas, and electric energy in New York City/USA. The largest refrigeration plant utilizing gas engines for cooling in New York City. State-of-the-art control system to determine maximum plant operating efficiency using alternate fuels and VFD's.