Cancun International Airport Case Study

Cancún International

Airport continues to

expand its facilities and

air conditioning systems

to accomodate millions

of passengers.

CASE STUDY: Airport

ISSUE:

NAME:

Cancun International Airport

LOCATION:

Cancún, MX

FACILITY SIZE:

Terminal 2 & 3: 100,000 m

ISSUE:

Upgrade expanding building cooling capacity

with energy and cost-saving equipment

SOLUTION:

(3) Daikin Pathnder

air-cooled chillers

(6) 1000-ton Daikin Magnitude

magnetic bearing compressor chillers

(44) Daikin Skyline

custom air handlers

SOLUTION:

Cancún Airport Cooling Capacities Soar with Magnitude

and Skyline

Cancún, Mexico, is a thriving, global tourist destination. Cancún International Airport, a gateway to the Mexican

Caribbean and the country’s second busiest airport, serves more than 17 million passengers each year requiring

infrastructure expansion. With high volumes of tourist trafc and tropical conditions, the airport demands

dependable cooling. “Air conditioning is huge here and the size of the cooling capacity needed for the airport is

signicant. While planning the expansion of Terminal 2 and 3, Cancún Airport also saw a need to upgrade some

of its present systems,” says Eduardo Alvarez, applied sales engineer with Daikin Mexico.

The HVAC upgrade is part of the airport’s ve-year expansion plan. “The aim of changing our equipment

is mainly due to two important issues for the airport: the equipment efciency gains with reduced power

consumption and achieving comfort in the shortest possible time while earning energy-efcient savings from

the equipment. In other words, comfort and efciency go hand in hand,” says Víctor S. Marino T., electrical and

electromechanical engineer with Servicios Aeroportuarios del Sureste SA de CV (ASUR) in Cancún, Mexico.

Cancún Airport-ASUR sought the engineering services of Iberia Renovables, a unit of the Iberia Group,

which performed a comprehensive analysis of single-compressor and dual-compressor chillers from three

manufacturers, each in various operating scenarios. Importantly, the analysis showed that changing to a water-

cooled system from the airport’s primary use of an air-cooled system would save considerable operating costs.

Among the competition, Daikin demonstrated the most efcient, environmentally responsible solution with

return on investment achieved in just over three years. “We selected Daikin which has proven to be good and

reliable equipment that has provided excellent performance for more than 10 years,” Marino T. says.

“The airport had 14 existing air-cooled chillers in various tonnage capacities, but because of the efciencies of

the water-cooled Daikin Magnitude chillers, the airport decided to transition from air-cooled to water-cooled

chillers,” Alvarez explains.

The existing air-cooled chillers in Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 are being replaced.

The cooling and energy efciency needs of the expanded terminals will be

served by three dual-compressor Magnitude chillers, three Pathnder

air-cooled

chillers, and three existing water-cooled Daikin chillers that have been in service

at the airport since 2006. The expansion includes a small, recently completed

addition to Terminal 2, used for domestic travel, and a large addition of 13,000

square meters to Terminal 3, the hub of international travel.

In addition, of the three existing Daikin dual-compressor chillers, one will remain

at Terminal 3, and two will be relocated to Terminal 4. “These conventional

centrifugal units are all in very good condition and required minimal retrot,”

Alvarez says.

The Daikin legacy equipment includes air handling equipment at the two

terminals which will remain in service. Another 44 new Skyline custom outdoor

air handlers (upper right) bring the total to 120 Daikin air handlers at the

sprawling airport.

The transition from an air-cooled to a primarily water-cooled facility also signals

conscious conservation of water and energy. “About 50 percent of businesses

here rely on well-water systems, which are preferred in our humid climate

because they use less evaporation than cooling towers. That equates to cost

savings,” Alvarez says. A new condenser well system was installed to supply

water for the chillers, featuring a titanium condenser that is far more corrosion-

resistant than copper. Also, not using cooling towers at the Cancún Airport

contributes to a low-maintenance solution afforded by the new chillers.

Six 1000-ton Magnitude chillers are among the new Daikin equipment serving the cooling needs

for the airport’s expanded terminals.

OUTCOME:

The rst Magnitude chiller was started up in July at Terminal 3 (below),

currently under construction, with the remaining new chillers coming online

through year-end. “The start-up of the new equipment went as expected,”

Marino T. says. “The Daikin Magnitude is a very efcient, reliable piece

of equipment with a very fast response time to reach the chilled-water

setpoint.”

Cancún Airport-ASUR appreciates the magnetic bearing design of the

chillers which reduces maintenance requirements and saves on labor costs.

“The start-up of the new equipment went as expected,” Marino T. says.

“The Magnitude is a very efcient, reliable piece of equipment with a very

fast response time to reach the chilled-water set point.” Daikin Service has

supported the airport’s operation as the HVAC maintenance contractor for

much of the last decade and will continue to partner with the airport.

Most of the new Daikin equipment will be in operation at Cancún Airport,

concurrent with the completed expansions of Terminal 2 and 3. As the

airport expands with a brand-new Terminal 4, three remaining Magnitude

chillers will be placed in service, along with additional Daikin equipment as

that terminal is expanded. The airport expansion is projected to continue

through 2025.

44 new (in addition to 76 existing) Daikin Skyline outdoor air handlers provide air handling

requirements for the airport’s terminals.

“We selected Daikin which has proven to be good

and reliable equipment that has provided excellent

performance for more than 10 years.”

– Víctor S. Marino T., Electromechanical engineer,

Servicios Aeroportuarios del Sureste SA de CV

SOLUTION (CONTINUED):