Background
Hero MotoCorp, headquartered in India and the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheeled vehicles, wanted to construct an intelligent industrial workplace for its new motorcycle assembly plant in Neemrana. Its revolutionary “Garden Factory” was planned to breathe, grow and sustain a delicate balance with the surrounding environment.
Weather conditions at the site include long dry summers and monsoon periods with extremely high humidity that challenge conventional air conditioning design. The new plant would bring together nature and technology to improve air quality and create a cool, comfortable environment for employees.
Approach
After Hero MotoCorp saw World Energy Innovations’ “Bigfoot” ductless HVAC system in operation at a Ford Motor Company manufacturing plant, it asked WEI to design and implement the system in its new India plant.
World Energy Innovations designed two Bigfoot units of 200,000 CFM capacity, used to pressurize a 300,000-square-foot area. This pressurization distributes cool air throughout the building without the need for ductwork and limits dust and other contaminants.
Hero MotoCorp’s Garden Factory houses an entire “bio wall” of oxygen-producing plants, integrating Bigfoot and reducing outside air ventilation requirements. When humidity is high, Bigfoot reclaims condensate from its cooling coils to water the green wall and mist its air-cooled chiller condenser coils. When reheat is required for indoor temperature and humidity targets, Bigfoot operates a heat pump chiller to maximize generation efficiency.
The system’s holistic Global Controls monitors the facility’s oxygen level and calibrates fresh air requirements to ensure Bigfoot operates at optimal efficiency. In addition, the facility’s green roof, covering 45,000 square meters, helps conserve energy by reducing the temperature difference between it and the facility’s interior.
Results
World Energy Innovations’ Bigfoot design and implementation meet the unique requirements of Hero MotoCorp’s new facility to achieve sustainability and other benefits, including:
- Energy costs are reduced by 30 percent
- Humidity control and non-stratification of air has increased the lifetime of electronic equipment by 70 percent
- Significant air quality improvement has reduced employees’ health concerns by 90 percent while increasing retention and productivity
World Energy Innovations’ partnership helped Hero MotoCorp win the Time India 2016 Manufacturing Innovator of the Year award. The company continues to work with World Energy Innovations to implement integrated HVAC systems in all its green field projects and retrofit its older manufacturing plants.