Divine Lorraine Apartments

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Challenge:

When developer Eric Blumfield set out to restore one of America’s most historic buildings, he wanted to restore as much of the landmark’s original design and still provide modern comfort. First opened in 1894, the Divine Lorraine’s late-19th century design provided historical charm but little support for traditional HVAC engineering requirements. 

Limited space to locate and conceal both the indoor and outdoor equipment, the need for individual tenant monitoring, and independent zone control made converting the building into apartments a daunting challenge. Modern HVAC equipment simply didn’t fit the building footprint or original design.

Solution:

Blumfield turned to Pennergy Solutions who recommended a design that featured Samsung HVAC’s state-of-the-art DVM S Heat Recovery Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system.

"The building wasn’t designed for modern HVAC,” said Rob Lowry of Pennergy Solutions. “So, if you want to stay true to the building’s charm, VRF was the perfect solution.”

The zoning capabilities of a VRF system allow users to adjust individual climate settings, making it a perfect fit for the Divine Lorraine’s lobby and 101 apartment units. The smaller footprint and extended piping length (up to 722 feet and vertical separation up to 361 feet) offered the installation flexibility required to accommodate the Divine Lorraine’s unique requirements.

The apartment units feature the Slim Duct unit, which has a compact design, making it easier to conceal. The lobby features Samsung’s Mini 4-Way Cassettes, which allow for seamless design integration, exceptional efficiency, and minimal noise. The Mini 4-Way Cassette is designed to fit in a standard 2x2 feet ceiling grid without interfering with adjacent ceiling tiles, lights, or sprinkler systems. 

Samsung’s Pulse Input Module (PIM) technology used in conjunction with Samsung’s Data Management Server (DMS) 2.5 BACnet Gateway allowed Lowry to design the system for exceptional energy monitoring. The PIM allows landlords to log in and pull data for each apartment and accurately bill each tenant for individual usage rather than an average. 

Samsung’s DVM S Heat Recovery system delivers heating and cooling with maximum occupant comfort, and allows one of America’s historic buildings to retain its beauty and charm.

Equipment:

DVM S

  • 6 to 44 tons

DVM S systems offer a wide array of sizes and system combinations and control options, providing flexible designs and applications.

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Slim Duct

  • 7K / 9K / 12K / 18K / 24K / 30K / 36K / 48K

It's as simple as an install gets. Mounted above the ceiling, the Slim Duct unit requires minimal ductwork, but maintains the high efficiency, quiet operation, and zoning capabilities of a ductless system.  

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Pulse Input Module

Used in conjunction with the DMS 2.5 Gateways, the Pulse Input Module (PIM) can monitor and record energy consumption from Samsung indoor units or pulse signals from other devices from water, gas, and electricity meters.

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DMS 2.5 + BACnet Gateway

This gateway provides the functions of DMS 2.5 and serves as an interface for the BACnet management system. It can control a maximum of 256 indoor units and can be used in conjunction with S-NET 3 and the Touchscreen Centralized Controller.

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