St James Terrace Apartments, QLD
Project Description
Located in the coastal town of Yeppoon, Queensland, St James Terraces is a new luxury apartment development designed to offer modern, low-maintenance living with panoramic views of Keppel Bay.
The development comprises 18 high-end apartments, each designed to blend comfort, style, and functionality, making them highly sought-after within the region’s growing residential market. With spacious interiors and premium finishes, the apartments required a climate control system that would not only deliver reliable year-round comfort but also complement the building’s prestige appeal.
Project Requirements & Challenges
The project required a cost-effective and efficient air-conditioning system that could meet the diverse cooling demands of multiple apartments across several levels. Each apartment needed individually controlled systems that would operate quietly, perform efficiently in Yeppoon’s warm climate, and provide consistent comfort in both living areas and bedrooms.
A major challenge came from the harsh coastal environment. With the apartments located just metres from the ocean, outdoor units needed to withstand high humidity, airborne salt, and corrosive sea air-factors that can significantly shorten equipment lifespan and reduce performance. The system also had to be robust enough to perform in the extreme summer heat of central Queensland, while maintaining energy efficiency and reliability.
In addition to environmental demands, the solution needed to remain compact and discreet, with limited plant space available for outdoor units, and support long pipe runs to connect systems across multiple levels of the development. The installation also needed to be completed within a tight construction timeframe, while ensuring long-term durability and low maintenance requirements for residents.
MHIAA’s Solution
In collaboration with JJ Kerrs Appliances, MHIAA delivered a tailored solution designed to handle the project’s environmental, spatial and performance challenges. A total of 18 x KX Micro VRF outdoor units were installed, providing a combined cooling capacity of 273.6 kW. The compact, single-fan design of the KX Micro series allowed the units to be installed neatly on the rooftop without compromising the development’s architectural design. Their ability to support long pipe runs also ensured reliable operation across the multi-level apartment layout.
Along with their high performance, quiet operation, and long pipe run capability, the KX Micro series also features Blue Fin corrosion protection as standard. This advanced coating provides superior resistance against salt, moisture, and airborne pollutants, making the system particularly well-suited to Yeppoon’s harsh coastal environment and the perfect solution for this project. Inside the apartments, 97 x FDK series wall-mounted indoor units were installed to provide quiet, reliable, and energy-efficient cooling across all living areas and bedrooms. With their slim, modern design, the units blend seamlessly into the interiors, complementing the contemporary finishes of the luxury apartments while offering user-friendly operation for residents.
This carefully engineered combination of KX Micro VRF outdoor units and the FDK series of wall mounted indoor units ensured St James Terraces benefits from a durable, efficient, and discreet climate control solution that delivers year-round comfort while withstanding the challenges of Yeppoon’s coastal climate.
