Dominican Republic.
The Ágora Mall shopping center, located in Santo Domingo, obtained the LEED Silver certification, thus becoming the first space of its kind in Central America and the Caribbean with "Green Building" certification, and the first green building in the whole country.
The building has the installation of Daikin air conditioning equipment which contributed to the LEED score required for certification, under the stipulations of the US Green Building Council.
As part of Daikin's solution, a hybrid system consisting of WSHP Enfinity Series (Water Source Heat Pump) and 120-ton RoofPak (Applied Rooftop Systems) units was selected. WSHP Enfinity equipment incorporates the greatest flexibility in its design, installation and operation using ecological refrigerant R-410ª. They provide very high levels of efficiency while protecting the environment. They are so efficient that Agora Mall managed to use up to 30% less water consumption in their operation without sacrificing the original design of the project and thus helping the property to achieve a higher score for its LEED certification.
Daikin RoofPak equipment has IBC (International Building Council) certification, which was a requirement in the specifications of the property, as well as an integrated control system to communicate with the rest of the mall automation system. These devices also have double wall construction which promotes better internal air quality just as these equipment use R-410A refrigerant. They use microchannel capacitors that employ up to 30% less refrigerant charge, contributing to LEED certification ratings.
Agora Mall is an icon in the city of Santo Domingo. This modern shopping center was conceived and developed from the beginning as a Green Building project, a sustainable green building that contributed to the environment and at the same time offered greater satisfaction and experience for its customers and consumers. This objective required a special development management, based on the process for LEED certification that involved the appropriate selection of suppliers and materials, in addition to a greater initial investment which translates into profit in the medium term due to the optimization of energy resources and operational savings (lower consumption of light and electricity).
