Cargo Company Loads Up on Comfort: Enlists Honolulu Air Conditioning for Warehouse Cooling System

Pacific Air Cargo (PAC), Los Angeles, CA, has had some very unique shipping manifest: whales, sharks, cows, limousines, helicopters, and even the water buffalo seen in the movie, “Tropic Thunder.” All of those shipments got where they needed to be, on time and unscathed, thanks to Pacific Air Cargo. In any given year, PAC ships up to 87 million pounds of merchandise.

PAC owner Beti Ward, and Tom Ingram, vice president and manager of operations, recently opened an 80,000 sq. ft. warehouse and office facility in Honolulu, HI. The site serves as a jumping-off point to supply shipments to various businesses in the Aloha State.

Despite the pleasant, year-round climate of Hawaii, Ward, and Ingram realized they needed a system to cool about two acres of space under an 18-ft. high ceiling. They hired Steve Luanglat, president, Honolulu Air Conditioning. For the warehouse, Luanglat's team installed 12 tons of ducted, Fujitsu multi-zone, 15-SEER cooling. For the upstairs office areas, they installed four, 12,000 BTU, 21-SEER, single-zone systems.

The systems used to cool the upstairs offices have dedicated, ceiling-cassette air handlers. The multi-zone condensing units feed air handlers with short duct runs.

The Fujitsu multi-zone units are engineered to transport compressed refrigerant to and from central, hidden air handlers — typically secured above suspended ceiling tiles, or in attic areas. Those air handlers feed cooled air to all of the zone-controlled spaces.

“Energy efficiency remains very high because the ducts, which can rob an HVAC system's efficiency, are so short,” Luanglat says. “Many light commercial facilities like this one require multiple air handlers. We've provided separate zones for flexibility and comfort.”

A three-man crew completed the project in six days.

The Fujitsu multi-zone units provide individual air conditioning capability, providing separate comfort levels to individual rooms from a single, compact outdoor condensing unit. One condensing unit can handle the needs of four, 9,000 BTU air handlers, or a mix of sizes up to 36,000 BTUs.

“They're perfectly suited for widely varied light commercial application,” Luanglat says, and adds that the units' zonability is an advantage.