Thermocold and plant engineering for extreme climates: The New Mont Blanc cable way
An artwork of world-class engineering, the new complex ropeway Pontal d'Entreves, Mont Frey and Helbronner, with its new stations for the visitors, are seeing the light on the highest and famous mountain of Europe.
The great attention and sensitivity of the designers, Francesco Pastoret Industrial Expert of Consulting Company Pastoret of Aosta, and Dott. Eng. Paolo Oliaro of Consulting Advanced Engineering Milan, towards respect of an environment among the most pristine, and a standard of "Zero energy Builiding ",in full harmony and cooperation with Thermocold, has oriented the choice towards cooling products with a reduced environmental impact by replacing the most polluting and uncomfortable diesel boilers with pumps heat-cycle electric, DUO FULL INVERTER, able to work with the most stringent temperature conditions encountered at high altitudes such as those of the stations of the new cable cars. Particular attention was given during the design to minimize the energy loss with the use of materials with high insulation, large photovoltaic surfaces and heating systems with heat pumps and heat recovery. Glass and steel are predominant in the structures, with panoramic large areas stations and rotating cabins fully glazed and spherical. The cabins will be equipped with a system that will allow the rotation on themselves allowing visitors to take advantage of the 360 ° view of all the zones crossed.
The new cable way of Mont Blanc, made by Cordee Mont Blanc under the commissioning of the funivie Monte Bianco Spa, will reach the three different stations arrival with different odds with the largest, Punta Helbronner at an altitude of 3449 meters above sea level, to the middle station of Mont Frety 2172 ms asl, to the station with the lowest share of Pontal. At 3452 mt of Helbronner, the final station at higher altitude, where it will be made a circular terrace of 14 meters in diameter, and from which you will enjoy a 360 degree view on the top of Mont Blanc (4810 meters), the tooth giant and the stunning Vallee Blanche, were installed two package heat pumps with double cycle for winter heating and production of domestic hot water.
DUO FULL INVERTER units ,in Package version, with supply and return air ducted, for a total heat requirement of 118 kW, are made with special configuration XLT and will be able to operate with very rigid external temperatures, up to - 30 ° C thanks to dual refrigeration cycle by:
• High Cycle : GAS R134a high temperature water production;
• Low Cycle : GAS R404 at low Outdoor temperature.
The units at the service of various AHU, feed two storage tanks, one for hsw 2000 l with water temperature at 65 ° C and the second at 500 l for heating with water temperature at 45 ° C of radiant ceiling panels and floor together to fan coil for heating of restaurants, bars and services.
In the middle station of Pavillon, at an altitude of 2172 meters above sea level ,were installed respectively 4 multifunction double cycle units DUO, for a total thermal power of 294 kW, the first two (DUO 170 Z MS) in multifunction version (SM) for the air conditioning in summer, winter and for the production of sanitary hot water, while the other two (DUO 170 Z SR) with version dedicated to heating only. The four units at the service of the AHU, feed radiant panels for air conditioning and heating of the conference hall, restaurant and hotel services.
DUO is the only full inverter multifunction unit with double Cascade cycle characterized by :
• Compression split into two levels;
• Two inverter scroll compressor;
• Cycle GAS R134a: optimized for the production of water at high temperature (up to 80 ° C);
• Cycle GAS R410a: optimized to work at very low outdoor temperatures (up to -20C).
Instead, at the station of Pontal D' Entreves to share 1308 meters above sea level, has installed a heat pump water-water, CWC PROZONE ZH 90 kW.
All units will be installed with an innovative system of Monitoring and Supervision, E- Visual Plus weblog Thermocold, cutting edge technology that ensures:
• Technical assistance in real time
• Monitoring of the main operating variables (Tw: working pressures; Outdoor temperature; speed for compressors, fans and pumps).
• List of alarm history-date, sequence of alarms, description, alarm status (active or reset).
• Storage of historical operating up to 4 days - data storage performance, fuel economy and efficiency, time system setting (possible statistical machine operation).
• Software updates remotely
Through the 'application of DUO Technology (double cascade refrigeration cycle) is possible to overcome the current limitations of heat pumps, which makes them a competitive solution and effective alternative to the combustion systems, even in particularly several conditions (rigid outside temperatures, need of water produced at high temperatures).The application of this technology, allows considerable advantages in terms of performance, reliability and durability of the units. In final, the perseverance of heat outputs, even at very low outdoor temperatures, the free choice of the design flow temperature, combined with the reliability of DUO heat pumps, finally allow to overcome the prejudice of the use of heat pumps as the only element of the production of hot and chilled water.
