Juno House – Mechanical Services Rectification & System Upgrades

June House, a large student accommodation and co-living facility, was experiencing widespread failures across its mechanical services shortly after project completion. With almost 80% of room-based HVAC systems malfunctioning, the site required an urgent and thorough review to diagnose the causes and implement effective upgrades without disrupting day-to-day operations. Complete Refrigeration & Air were engaged to deliver a full system assessment, isolation strategy and stage rectification plan.

Business name

Juno House

Location

Perth, WA

Industry

Student Accommodation

The Problem

Juno House faced an exceptionally high failure rate across room air handling units (AHUs) and key plant components. Many issues were traced back to deficiencies in previous works, meaning the site needed upgrades beyond the original scope to restore reliability.

Approximately 80% failure rate across room AHUs throughout the building

Faulty actuators, STAD valves and shutoff valves across multiple levels

Malfunctioning float valves for chiller make-up water tanks

Faulty central plant sensors affecting Smardt chiller operation and reliability

Air trapped in the chilled water circuit with no auto bleed valves – catastrophic chiller failure risk

No isolation valves for level-by-level or east/west hydronic shutdowns

The Solution

Complete Refrigeration & Air delivered mechanical review of the whole site and designed a staged upgrade plan to significantly reduce failures while maintaining building operations. This required strategic system shutdowns, installation of critical isolation points and progressive replacement of faulty system components.

Full HVAC mechanical services audit identifying root causes across rooms and central plant

Installation of new isolation valves enabling staged half-building shutdowns during works

Replacement of 80 STAD valves and actuators across the chilled water system

Replacement and recalibration of multiple BMS sensors affecting chiller operation and performance

Replacement of float valves on both chiller make-up water tanks

Installation of new central plant sensors to stabilise Smardt chiller performance

Shell and tube clean and anode changes for the chilled water vessel

Replacement of multiple failed room controllers and correction of wiring errors from the original installation

Performing shell and tube clean and annode changes for chilled water vessel.

Changing multiple failed controllers and correcting wiring to multiple units resulting from historical works.

Faults Identified and Repaired Within 12 Months

Within the first 12 months of engagement, the team identified and repaired the following:

Faulty Smardt chiller – inverter PCB fault causing the system to run at 50% capacity with one compressor locked out
89 actuators, shutoff valves and STAD valves replaced across the chilled water distribution system
17 custom-made fan barrels and motors replaced across room AHUs
14 faulty room wall controllers replaced
7 isolators damaged by the elements replaced
2 failed AHUs repaired – motors found to be misaligned with belts failing as a result
Cooling tower repaired – rust guard treatment applied, blower patched with epoxy and sheet metal
Multiple air bleeds installed throughout the chilled water circuit to resolve air trapping and prevent complete chiller failure

The Outcome

The staged upgrades dramatically improved system reliability, reducing the failure rate from 80% to under 10% across the building. The project was delivered at more than 30% below the projected cost during initial assessment, providing exceptional value to the client. Operations remained active throughout the works, ensuring uninterrupted accommodation revenue.

Juno House – Mechanical Services Rectification & System Upgrades

The Problem

The Solution

Faults Identified and Repaired Within 12 Months

The Outcome

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