ECO2 Series
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ECO2 Series Commercial Rooftop Units
ECO2 Series commercial rooftop units are large packaged HVAC systems designed for buildings requiring approximately 50 to 65 tons of cooling capacity. The category combines cooling, supply airflow, heating options, ventilation accessories, and equipment controls in one outdoor cabinet for substantial commercial applications.
These systems are most relevant to large rooftop replacement projects, high-airflow buildings, and facilities with demanding ventilation or internal heat loads. Correct selection requires a commercial load calculation, airflow and static-pressure analysis, roof and curb verification, utility review, controls planning, and confirmation that a single large packaged unit is the best operational strategy.
When an ECO2 Rooftop Unit Fits the Project
This category serves applications that exceed the practical range of conventional light and medium commercial rooftop equipment. The following factors determine whether an ECO2 unit is suitable or whether multiple smaller units, a commercial split system, or a central plant would provide better performance.
50-to-65-Ton Cooling Load
The series is intended for substantial commercial loads. Selecting this capacity range without a current load calculation can create short cycling, poor humidity control, and inefficient part-load operation.
Large Packaged System
Major HVAC components are contained in one rooftop cabinet, preserving indoor floor space and reducing field refrigerant piping. The trade-off is greater rooftop weight and a larger service outage if the unit fails.
High Airflow Demand
The platform can support substantial supply airflow and external static pressure. Fan selection must reflect the installed duct system, filters, dampers, and accessories rather than nominal capacity alone.
Variable Building Loads
Multiple compressors and staged operation can match changing cooling demand more effectively than one large refrigeration stage. Correct control sequencing is essential to achieve this benefit.
Ventilation Requirements
Large retail, institutional, assembly, fitness, and production spaces may require significant outdoor air. The ventilation load must be included in both cooling and winter heating calculations.
Replacement Compatibility
Existing curbs, structural supports, ducts, utilities, and controls must be documented before replacement. Similar tonnage does not guarantee physical or operational compatibility.
ECO2 YPAL Capacity Options
The category includes approximately 50, 55, 60, and 65-ton packaged rooftop configurations. The correct capacity should reflect the building’s present load, ventilation requirement, operating schedule, zoning, and internal equipment rather than the nameplate of the unit being removed.
Why Existing Tonnage Is Not a Complete Selection Method
An older rooftop unit may have been oversized originally, or its capacity may no longer reflect the current property. Tenant changes, building renovations, increased ventilation, longer operating hours, new equipment, and envelope improvements can all change the required load.
Cooling demand is affected by roof exposure, glazing, occupancy, lighting, computers, production equipment, door traffic, outdoor air, exhaust systems, and process heat. Buildings with similar floor area can require very different rooftop capacities.
Heating load must be calculated separately for Toronto and GTA winter conditions. Envelope loss, entrance traffic, ventilation air, morning recovery, and building pressure may produce a heating requirement that does not align directly with the cooling tonnage.
The Consequence of Oversizing a 50-to-65-Ton Unit
Additional capacity may appear to protect the building during extreme weather, but oversizing creates performance limitations. A large packaged system must operate long enough to stabilize airflow, temperature, and humidity throughout the served area.
The Thermostat Reaches Setpoint Before the Building Stabilizes
An oversized rooftop unit can satisfy the return-air or thermostat location while distant areas remain warm or humid. Frequent compressor cycling increases electrical demand, temperature swings, mechanical wear, and airflow noise without improving overall comfort.
Multiple Compressors and Capacity Turndown
ECO2 units use multiple scroll compressors to divide the total refrigeration capacity into stages. This allows the system to respond to moderate loads without operating every compressor whenever cooling is required.
Staging can improve part-load efficiency, reduce temperature swings, and provide more stable supply-air conditions. The value depends on proper sensors, control sequences, airflow, and compressor rotation.
Multiple circuits can also preserve partial cooling if one circuit requires service. This does not provide complete system redundancy, but it may reduce the operational impact compared with losing the full 50-to-65-ton capacity at once.
Full-Load vs Part-Load Efficiency
Full-load efficiency reflects operation near maximum cooling demand, while part-load efficiency reflects performance as building conditions and occupancy change. Large commercial rooftop units usually spend more annual hours below peak capacity than at full design output.
Constant Air Volume vs Variable Air Volume
The correct airflow strategy depends on whether the unit serves one stable open area or several zones with different load patterns. Variable airflow can reduce fan energy and improve zoning, but it adds control and commissioning requirements.
When Variable Air Volume Is Worth the Added Complexity
Variable air volume is most valuable when multiple zones experience different solar loads, occupancy levels, equipment gains, or schedules. It is less useful when the entire served area behaves as one stable thermal zone.
A successful VAV application requires compatible terminal boxes, minimum-airflow control, duct-pressure sensing, supply-air temperature reset, ventilation management, and stable building automation.
Replacing a constant-volume unit with VAV equipment without redesigning the downstream system can create low airflow, unstable duct pressure, noisy terminals, poor ventilation, and uncomfortable perimeter zones.
Supply Fan and Static-Pressure Selection
A 50-to-65-ton rooftop unit must move substantial air through filters, coils, ducts, dampers, diffusers, economizers, and other accessories. The fan and motor must be selected for the actual airflow and external static pressure.
Restrictive ducts, undersized returns, dirty filters, closed dampers, and poorly designed transitions can reduce delivered capacity. Increasing fan speed without correcting the restriction can increase noise and electrical demand.
The required fan duty should be established before equipment is ordered. This becomes especially important when the project adds higher-efficiency filtration, VAV terminals, new duct sections, or increased outdoor air.
What Happens When Fan Capacity Is Incorrect
Nominal tonnage does not establish blower horsepower or usable airflow. A large refrigeration system cannot condition the building properly if the fan cannot deliver design air volume against the installed resistance.
The Unit Has Cooling Capacity but the Zones Still Overheat
An undersized or incorrectly configured fan can starve distant areas of conditioned air even when all compressors are operating. The result may include high energy use, coil problems, noise, inadequate ventilation, and repeated comfort complaints.
Cooling-Only and Gas-Heat Configurations
The ECO2 platform can support cooling-only and gas-heating applications. The correct configuration depends on whether heating is provided by the rooftop unit, a separate building system, or another central source.
Cooling-only equipment can suit applications with independent heating, process cooling, or seasonal operation. The separate heating system must be capable of carrying the complete winter load without relying on the rooftop unit.
Gas-heat configurations can provide substantial packaged winter capacity. Gas input, piping, combustion clearances, venting, heat-exchanger protection, and Toronto winter requirements must be reviewed independently from cooling tonnage.
Gas-Heat Selection for Toronto Commercial Buildings
Gas heating can provide strong cold-weather performance for buildings with sufficient natural gas infrastructure. The heating section should be sized from a current heat-loss calculation rather than selected automatically from the largest available option.
Oversized gas heat can cause short cycles, temperature swings, limit trips, and uneven distribution. Undersized heat may fail to recover the building after night setback or maintain temperature during high ventilation demand.
Installation planning must confirm gas pressure, pipe capacity, regulator sizing, combustion clearances, vent discharge, snow exposure, and service access.
Outdoor-Air and Ventilation Requirements
Outdoor air adds sensible cooling, latent cooling, and winter heating load. The required volume depends on occupancy, floor area, building use, exhaust systems, pressure objectives, and applicable ventilation requirements.
Assembly, healthcare, fitness, food-service, retail, and production facilities can require substantially more outdoor air than conventional offices. Selecting rooftop capacity without including this air can leave the building unable to maintain temperature or humidity.
A comfort rooftop unit should not be expected to replace a dedicated make-up-air system where exhaust or process ventilation is exceptionally high.
Economizer Selection
An economizer can use suitable outdoor air to cool the building when exterior conditions permit. This can reduce compressor operation in buildings that require cooling during mild Toronto weather because of lighting, occupancy, servers, or process heat.
The benefit is greatest in facilities with long operating hours and strong internal loads. Buildings that rarely need shoulder-season cooling may receive less value.
Economizer sensors and dampers require correct setup and maintenance. A failed damper can introduce excessive winter air, increase heating demand, reduce ventilation, or create humidity problems.
Barometric Relief vs Powered Exhaust
Introducing large quantities of outdoor air requires a pressure-relief strategy. The correct option depends on building tightness, economizer airflow, exhaust systems, and the desired pressure relationship.
Building Pressure and Door Operation
Excessive positive pressure can make exterior doors difficult to close and force conditioned air through envelope openings. Excessive negative pressure can draw in outdoor air, odours, moisture, and contaminants.
Pressure problems are often blamed on the rooftop unit even when the actual cause is uncoordinated exhaust, failed dampers, incorrect minimum-air settings, or an unsuitable relief strategy.
Building pressure should be measured under occupied, economizer, and high-exhaust conditions. The exhaust and outdoor-air sequences should then be commissioned together.
Humidity Control in Large Commercial Spaces
Humidity performance depends on unit sizing, compressor staging, coil conditions, airflow, outdoor-air volume, and operating sequence. A system can maintain temperature while leaving excessive moisture in the building.
Oversizing shortens cooling cycles and reduces moisture removal. Excessive supply airflow can also raise coil temperature and reduce latent performance.
Where outdoor air creates a dominant humidity load, the project may require a dedicated outdoor-air or dehumidification strategy rather than additional sensible cooling capacity.
When More Cooling Does Not Solve High Humidity
Temperature and moisture are separate load components. Increasing tonnage can make humidity worse when the system satisfies the thermostat too quickly.
The Building Is Cool but Still Feels Damp
An oversized or poorly staged unit may reach the temperature setpoint before operating long enough to remove moisture. Occupants may lower the thermostat further, increasing energy use without correcting the latent-load problem.
Filtration and Indoor Air Quality
Filter selection affects particle removal, fan energy, external static pressure, and maintenance frequency. Higher-efficiency filters can improve filtration but may require additional filter area or greater fan capability.
Installing restrictive filters without reviewing the fan duty can reduce airflow and delivered capacity. This may contribute to coil problems, noise, high energy use, and uneven zone performance.
Healthcare, institutional, and sensitive commercial applications may require more detailed filtration and ventilation design than ordinary retail or warehouse spaces.
Controls and Building Automation Integration
Integrated controls can manage compressors, supply fans, gas heat, economizers, exhaust, schedules, sensors, alarms, static pressure, and operating setpoints. Communication capability can support connection to a building automation system.
Protocol compatibility alone does not guarantee successful integration. The project must define control ownership, point mapping, alarm handling, schedules, reset strategies, safeties, and fallback operation.
Conflicting commands between the rooftop controller and the building automation system can create unstable temperatures, excess fan runtime, incorrect staging, unnecessary outdoor air, or simultaneous heating and cooling.
Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics
Remote monitoring can help facility teams review temperatures, pressure, schedules, compressor status, alarms, and operating trends. It is particularly useful when the rooftop unit serves critical operations or roof access is difficult.
Monitoring does not replace physical maintenance. Filters, coils, belts, bearings, dampers, drains, gas components, and electrical connections still require direct inspection.
Alarm thresholds should distinguish actionable problems from routine operating changes. Too many nuisance alarms can cause important warnings to be ignored.
Roof Curb and Structural Requirements
A 50-to-65-ton rooftop unit creates substantial weight, dimensional, lifting, and structural requirements. Replacement planning must include a detailed survey of the existing curb, roof framing, equipment weight, duct openings, utilities, and service clearances.
The survey should record curb length, width, height, supply and return openings, structural condition, roof membrane, drainage, electrical entry, gas entry, control wiring, lifting points, and crane access.
An adapter curb may be required when the replacement cabinet does not match the existing opening. The adapter must maintain structural support, airflow, weather protection, drainage, and service access without creating excessive resistance.
Why Rooftop Verification Must Happen Before Ordering
Large rooftop replacement projects require coordinated crane, structural, roofing, electrical, gas, sheet-metal, controls, and HVAC work. An incorrect assumption can delay every part of the project.
The Replacement Unit Arrives but Cannot Be Installed
A curb, weight, duct, utility, or clearance mismatch can cancel the lift and extend the HVAC shutdown. Emergency engineering and fabrication can substantially increase cost, so field verification must be completed before equipment and crane services are committed.
Supply and Return Duct Orientation
ECO2 units can support different supply and return-air connection arrangements. The selected configuration must align with the existing curb, duct system, structural framing, economizer, exhaust option, and service access.
Bottom connections are common in conventional rooftop installations. Side or rear connections may suit steel-frame mounting, specialized rooftop layouts, or replacement projects where the original duct arrangement cannot be retained.
Poorly designed transitions can add turbulence, leakage, static pressure, and noise. Duct configuration should be resolved during design rather than fabricated after the unit reaches the roof.
Electrical-Service Planning
A large packaged rooftop unit requires substantial three-phase electrical capacity. The building service must support compressors, condenser fans, supply fans, controls, accessories, and any electric components included in the final configuration.
The assessment should verify voltage, phase, feeder size, minimum circuit ampacity, maximum overcurrent protection, disconnect rating, grounding, available fault current, phase protection, and control-power requirements.
Required transformer, switchgear, feeder, or distribution upgrades can materially affect installation cost and lead time. Physical rooftop compatibility does not confirm electrical compatibility.
Single-Point vs Multiple-Point Power
Power-connection strategy affects field wiring, disconnect requirements, coordination, and shutdown procedures. The correct option depends on the equipment configuration and available electrical infrastructure.
Gas-Service Planning
Gas-heating configurations require adequate inlet pressure and pipe capacity under full building demand. Existing gas service may not support a revised heating input or changes elsewhere in the property.
The assessment should include pipe sizing, regulator capacity, shut-off access, pressure, combustion clearances, vent discharge, and interaction with other gas-fired equipment.
Insufficient supply can cause unreliable ignition, reduced heating output, and operational problems during peak winter demand.
ECO2 vs Multiple Smaller Rooftop Units
One large ECO2 unit can serve a broad area with fewer major equipment packages, while multiple smaller rooftop units can provide better zoning and reduce the area affected by one failure. The building layout and business risk should determine the preferred approach.
ECO2 vs Commercial Split Systems
A packaged rooftop unit combines major components in one outdoor cabinet, while a commercial split system separates the condensing equipment from the indoor air handler. Each approach creates different space, piping, maintenance, and installation requirements.
ECO2 vs Central Chilled-Water Systems
An ECO2 rooftop unit provides direct-expansion cooling for a defined commercial area without requiring a central chiller plant. A chilled-water system centralizes cooling production and distributes water to one or more air handlers.
The packaged approach can reduce mechanical-room and piping requirements where the building does not already have a chilled-water plant. A central system may provide greater flexibility for several large zones, heat recovery, plant-level redundancy, and specialized air-handling requirements.
The decision should consider total building capacity, zoning, available mechanical space, ownership horizon, maintenance capability, redundancy, energy strategy, and the consequences of one unit serving a large area.
Toronto and GTA Climate Suitability
ECO2 rooftop units installed in Toronto and the GTA must operate through humid summers, freezing winters, snow accumulation, wind, rain, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
Cooling selection must account for both temperature and moisture loads. Large outdoor-air volumes can create substantial latent demand during humid weather even when indoor sensible load is moderate.
Heating selection must account for winter design conditions, ventilation, entrance traffic, building pressure, and morning recovery. Gas capacity and combustion requirements should be reviewed under peak winter operation.
Outdoor-air hoods, coils, drains, combustion sections, electrical compartments, and service panels must remain accessible during winter. Snow drifting and rooftop ice can interfere with airflow, drainage, and maintenance safety.
Commercial Applications
The 50-to-65-ton range can serve large commercial zones, but each application creates a different combination of load, ventilation, humidity, zoning, and reliability requirements.
Large Retail Stores
Customer traffic, entrances, lighting, display equipment, and extended operating hours create changing loads. Compressor staging and airflow control can provide greater value than maximum capacity alone.
Office and Administrative Buildings
Perimeter exposure, meeting rooms, computers, occupancy schedules, and multiple zones may favour VAV operation. A constant-volume replacement may not correct existing zone imbalance.
Healthcare and Institutional Facilities
These buildings may require greater ventilation, filtration, pressure control, alarm integration, and scheduling capability. Filter resistance and outdoor-air load must be included in fan selection.
Fitness and Recreation Facilities
Occupancy and moisture loads can change quickly. Oversizing for peak attendance can produce poor humidity control during normal operation.
Warehouses and Distribution Centres
High ceilings, loading doors, solar roof gain, equipment, and intermittent occupancy create uneven loads. Air distribution and winter recovery may be more limiting than nominal tonnage.
Light Industrial and Production Buildings
Process equipment, exhaust, contaminants, and production schedules can create loads beyond conventional comfort-cooling assumptions. Process ventilation should be separated from occupied-space requirements.
Assembly and Event Spaces
Occupancy can change rapidly from nearly empty to full capacity. The control strategy must handle part-load operation without sacrificing ventilation during high-occupancy events.
ECO2 Series Installation
Installation requires coordinated HVAC, electrical, gas, controls, structural, roofing, sheet-metal, crane, and building-operations planning. The complete scope should be established before the existing unit is disconnected.
The pre-installation survey should confirm load calculations, equipment configuration, weight, curb dimensions, structural support, duct orientation, supply airflow, utilities, ventilation accessories, controls, drainage, service clearances, and lifting access.
Commissioning should verify compressor staging, refrigeration operation, airflow, static pressure, fan rotation, heating output, gas pressure, economizer logic, exhaust operation, sensors, schedules, alarms, drainage, and safety controls.
ECO2 Series Replacement Planning
Replacement may be required because of compressor failure, refrigerant leakage, heat-exchanger deterioration, corrosion, obsolete controls, unavailable parts, poor efficiency, or unreliable peak-season performance.
A replacement project should not assume that an identical new cabinet or control package will be available. The existing unit, refrigerant, curb, ducts, utilities, controls, and building automation must be documented before the replacement strategy is selected.
The final solution may be a compatible large packaged unit, multiple smaller rooftop units, a commercial split system, or a broader mechanical redesign.
Like-for-Like Replacement vs System Redesign
A compatible packaged replacement prioritizes reduced field modification and shorter disruption. A redesign may improve zoning, redundancy, efficiency, ventilation, or controls but usually requires more engineering and infrastructure work.
What Affects ECO2 Installation Cost?
Total installed cost depends on unit capacity, heating configuration, blower selection, airflow strategy, controls, economizer, exhaust, filtration, voltage, curb compatibility, structural requirements, crane access, roof condition, duct modifications, utilities, permits, disposal, and commissioning.
A compatible replacement on a sound curb may require less field work than a project needing structural reinforcement, an adapter curb, a new electrical feeder, relocated gas service, VAV conversion, or building automation upgrades.
Equipment price should not be evaluated separately from the complete installation. Structural, lifting, electrical, duct, and control requirements can materially affect the final investment.
Repair or Replace an ECO2 Rooftop Unit?
Repair may be practical when the cabinet, curb, coils, compressors, heat exchanger, fan section, controls, and refrigeration circuits remain serviceable and the failure is isolated.
Replacement becomes more compelling when major failures recur, components are obsolete, refrigerant repairs are extensive, controls no longer integrate reliably, efficiency is poor, or the unit cannot maintain the building during peak conditions.
Commercial downtime must be included in the financial comparison. Repeated emergency repairs can cost more than planned replacement when temporary conditioning, lost operations, tenant disruption, crane mobilization, and after-hours service are considered.
Maintenance and Long-Term Reliability
Preventive maintenance is essential because one ECO2 unit may serve a substantial portion of the building. Deferred service can turn a minor airflow, electrical, or control problem into a major operational outage.
Maintenance should include filters, evaporator and condenser coils, blower assemblies, belts, bearings, drains, electrical connections, compressors, refrigeration circuits, economizer dampers, exhaust fans, gas components, sensors, controls, and cabinet condition.
Performance testing should include airflow, static pressure, compressor staging, supply-air temperature, heating operation, damper position, building pressure, alarms, and schedules. Visual inspection alone cannot identify all performance problems.
ECO2 Series Selection Checklist
Use this checklist before selecting an ECO2 rooftop replacement or alternative system. Each item can affect compatibility, performance, installation cost, and business continuity.
Confirm Before Selecting an ECO2 System
- Complete updated commercial heating and cooling load calculations.
- Confirm whether the application requires approximately 50, 55, 60, or 65 tons.
- Record the complete model and configuration of the existing unit.
- Identify the existing refrigerant and assess replacement implications.
- Determine whether one large packaged unit remains the best system type.
- Compare one ECO2 unit with multiple smaller rooftop units.
- Compare packaged equipment with commercial split and central-plant alternatives.
- Select constant-air-volume, reduced-speed, or variable-air-volume operation.
- Calculate required supply airflow and external static pressure.
- Select the blower and motor from the actual fan duty point.
- Choose cooling-only or gas-heating operation.
- Verify gas capacity and combustion requirements where applicable.
- Calculate outdoor-air and exhaust requirements.
- Determine whether an economizer provides useful operating value.
- Evaluate barometric relief, powered exhaust, and building-pressure requirements.
- Select filtration without exceeding available fan capability.
- Confirm controller and building automation compatibility.
- Define required points, schedules, alarms, and fallback operation.
- Measure the existing curb and supply and return openings.
- Inspect the curb, roof membrane, drainage, and structural support.
- Confirm equipment weight, lifting points, and crane access.
- Determine whether an engineered adapter curb is required.
- Verify voltage, phase, feeder size, disconnects, and overcurrent protection.
- Plan permits, traffic control, road access, and rooftop safety.
- Coordinate HVAC, structural, electrical, gas, roofing, controls, and sheet-metal work.
- Plan temporary conditioning where operations cannot tolerate an extended outage.
- Include complete start-up, testing, balancing, and commissioning.
- Document the final equipment, curb, utilities, controls, and operating sequence.
- Establish a preventive maintenance and parts-planning strategy.
Select the Right ECO2 Rooftop Solution
The ECO2 Series is designed for large commercial applications requiring approximately 50 to 65 tons of packaged rooftop cooling capacity. Multiple compressors, broad airflow capability, gas-heat options, economizer configurations, exhaust strategies, and building-control integration allow the system to serve demanding commercial environments.
For Toronto and GTA properties, the final selection should account for humid summer cooling, cold-weather heating, outdoor-air loads, building pressure, rooftop exposure, structural support, curb compatibility, utility capacity, controls integration, equipment availability, and business continuity.
The correct solution may be a compatible ECO2 replacement, another large packaged rooftop platform, multiple smaller units, a commercial split system, or a central mechanical redesign. Current load calculations, field measurements, engineering review, and complete commissioning should determine the choice.
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