Designed to support high-density living, Yugo Perth University Campus is a purpose-built 916-bed student accommodation development spanning three towers.
The precinct brings together accommodation, retail and a range of shared spaces, including study areas and recreational facilities. The aim is to provide a home away from home for students from Curtin University, Canning College and other nearby institutions.
Providing a positive living environment for students means ensuring the familiar comforts they expect every day, with dependable hot water being a central part of that experience.
Rheem was brought in to deliver a cost-efficient solution to support the campus’s growing student population by providing dependable hot water, even at times of intense demand.
For instance, during the morning rush, as hundreds of students prepare for the day simultaneously, a single building’s requirements can exceed 6,000 litres of hot water within just two hours.
The challenge: Meeting peak demand in a constrained plantroom
Rheem was engaged by the Leeway Group to deliver a solution capable of managing high hot water demand.
Each building’s usage profile highlighted the scale of the task, with allowances of approximately 25 litres per resident during peak periods. This translates to thousands of litres required within a short window.
The system needed to operate reliably for current occupancy while allowing capacity to scale as the wider campus is completed.
With more than 10 tonnes of plant and storage equipment to accommodate, fitting the system within the available plantroom became a critical challenge.
Addressing this required a considered approach to balance performance with simplicity.
The solution: A system designed for real-world usage
A centralised hot water solution built around Rheem’s Commercial Plus modular air-to-water heat pump system was chosen to manage fluctuating demand.
Operating as a bank of smaller units, this approach can scale output in line with demand while simplifying plumbing and electrical requirements.
Designed to streamline installation, the Plus range features factory-built and tested multi-stage units. The vertical discharge design helps reduce pipework and simplify the overall system layout.
This configuration provides up to 8,000 litres of stored hot water during peak demand, allowing the solution to facilitate high usage as it occurs. As demand tapers, the system steadily recovers, generating approximately 1,800 to 2,000 litres per hour depending on conditions, readying supply for the next peak period.
Operational and energy efficiency outcomes
The completed system delivers reliable hot water performance for large-scale residential environment, while maintaining a compact and efficient plant design.
Despite space constraints, air-to-water heat pump technology enables energy-efficient operation, with a coefficient of performance of approximately 4.42 under standard conditions.
The multi-unit configuration also enables maintenance to be carried out without fully interrupting supply, supporting consistent operation across the building.
By designing around how residents actually use the space, Rheem delivered a solution that balances performance and installation efficiency. Strong outcomes don’t require more complex systems, just smarter ones.
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