Case Study

3Arena: Ventilation and BMS Upgrade

The 3Arena is a state of the art concert venue with concert hall quality acoustics and a capacity of over 14,500, which makes the venue the largest indoor arena in Ireland and one of the busiest in the world. Thanks to its modular design, the 3Arena has the flexibility to accommodate a great variety of stage and sports events, hosting over 150 event nights per year.

The Solution

Following an enquiry by 3Arena and a site visit regarding performance issues of the HVAC system in the auditorium, Sirus was engaged to perform an independent assessment of the entire system in order to assess the need for additional cooling, ventilation or a BMS upgrade. The Client HVAC upgrade “wish list” included

• a review of the performances in comparison to design values;
• improvement of ventilation and air circulation in seated areas;
• reduction of temperature stratification;
• review of BMS strategy in order to improve control over the system.

During the initial survey, Sirus performed a full footprint of the system which included airflows measurement, temperature logging, smoke visualisation tests, equipment inspection, thermal loads and ventilation requirements verification. As a result, further to the survey works, Sirus were engaged to provide a turnkey solution to improve some of the HVAC problems. The improvement project included a full upgrade of the four AHUs, BEMS improvements such as additional VSDs, pressure control and improved interface, and a new extract system in the back tiers of the arena for a total of 30,000 l/s.

The Result

The project was carefully planned, scheduled around the busy agenda of the venue for quiet times in between events, and successfully completed with no disruption to client operations over a period of a year meeting Client expectations.