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Case Studies & Success Stories

Pioneering a New HVAC Standard for Upscale New Hotel Builds

Exterior of The SOMM Hotel at dusk — a stone and timber façade with no visible HVAC equipment

The SOMM Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection chose INNOVA’s decentralized, ERV-integrated HVAC over VRF, preserving a grille-less façade while reducing installation cost, mechanical space, and exterior equipment.

How does INNOVA fulfil this request? Deliver an HVAC system that guests never see, hear, or think about. That was the HVAC requirement for The SOMM Hotel & Spa, Autograph Collection, in the heart of Woodinville wine country.

Comfort Without Compromise

The SOMM’s design team presented their architectural vision. For the exterior – a refined façade uncluttered with HVAC hardware. In the guest rooms, the design called for no visible HVAC hardware to interrupt the finished aesthetic. That translates to a system with no prominent exterior grilles, no outdoor condensing units, and no sprawling centralized mechanical infrastructure. Valuable space and construction budgets are preserved.

The project team evaluated the available HVAC options: VRF systems, water-source heat pumps, and VTACs. Each came with a tradeoff. Some demanded significant mechanical space. Others meant visible exterior equipment or added system complexity. In addition to the design constraints, the ventilation strategy would have to satisfy Washington State Code Section 403.4.4.2, governing whole-house ventilation for occupancies outside Group R-2.

The Solution: A Decentralized System That Stays Out of Sight

A guest room at The SOMM with a soffit running above the headboards, concealing the HVAC unit

The SOMM hotel project team selected 168 INNOVA AIO (All-in-One) Ceiling Ducted units. Choosing AIO eliminates the need for outdoor condensing units altogether. As a decentralized system, AIO delivers performance and design flexibility in the same package, without the mechanical footprint conventional systems require.

Inside the building, units were concealed above purpose-built soffits, keeping every piece of equipment out of guests’ line of sight. Strategically placed access panels preserve serviceability without ever compromising the finished interior.

A decorative HVAC grille set into a stacked-stone façade column

On the exterior, the team disguised the HVAC grilles, placing the ventilation discreetly into the building’s rock façade.

AIO Ceiling Ducted with Integrated ERV provided a cost-effective, space-efficient HVAC solution:

  • 168 Ceiling Ducted units installed throughout the property
  • Grille-less façade — split intake/exhaust for a cleaner exterior
  • Integrated ERV with bathroom exhaust, meeting WA Code 403.4.4.2 without a separate ventilation system
  • Lower installed cost and smaller footprint than the VRF, water-source, and VTAC options originally considered

INNOVA units come out significantly cheaper than VRF. With ERV and bathroom exhaust in one system and no need to find space for outdoor units.

Why It Matters

Hospitality projects rarely get to choose between design and mechanical performance — usually, one gets compromised for the other. The SOMM shows what’s possible when a decentralized, all-in-one system does the work of several: heating, cooling, and code-compliant ventilation, without a single outdoor unit or exposed grille to show for it.

For architects and developers chasing a clean façade without sacrificing comfort, energy recovery, or budget, that’s the real story behind the reveal.

Want the full breakdown of The SOMM’s HVAC install? Read the complete project profile or contact the INNOVA team to talk through your next build.