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‘Pool Environment Control issues and innovations’

Recotherm ‘Brand Leader’ Interview Podcast 1 – Transcript to support learning

Every effort has been made to flawlessly transcribe the interview to support learning but please consider the recorded audio of the interview as the actual source of information for learning purposes

Hi this is Mick de Leiburne for BusinessNet Explorer.  

And welcome to the latest edition of our Project Viewpoint series of interviews with Brand Leaders in the Construction & Building Services industry, where we look at the brands that are continually innovating in a marketplace ever hungry for state-of-the-art product and service solutions to meet specific industry needs.

So, more and more properties have swimming pools these days and they need to be ventilated to stop mold and condensation ruining building structures.  

Swimming pool ventilation has come a long way and one brand at the forefront of this technology development is Recotherm.   

We are joined today by Martin Killen, MD at Recotherm, an established driving force in the world of innovative ventilation technology. 

Martin joins us on the phone….Hi Martin and welcome to the Project Viewpoint podcast for the Construction & Building Services industry and thank you for joining us today.

Hello and thanks for inviting me to talk about Pool Environment Control issues and innovations.

There are so many more swimming pools around now – what sort of locations are most popular?

We do hotel pools, leisure pools, hydrotherapy pools and spa’s but you would probably be surprised at how many private pools are built each year – so there’s clearly a lot of ventilation to be done.

Martin, as it is something all the architects, consultants and contractors involved in Swimming Pool ventilation specification need to consider, what is your view on dehumidify vs. controlled fresh air?

Some of your listeners may remember the oil crisis of the 1970’s. Before that all swimming pools were ventilated with fresh air, in fact the CIBSE guide recommended full fresh air for swimming pools. These systems were very expensive to operate so the idea of dehumidifying the air and recirculating it took hold and to be fair it saved about 60% of the cost of ventilating a pool, and we were one of the companies supplying refrigerant based dehumidifiers. But when I went to site I realised that for the vast majority of the year the fresh air was doing all the dehumidification required and the heat pump wasn’t operating,  so I thought why don’t we just bring in the exact amount of fresh air that’s required instead of full fresh air, and why don’t we put that fresh air that we are bringing in over a plate heat exchanger to recover the heat in the air that’s in exhaust. We also added variable speed to the fans, so that the fans altered their speed according to the load. When we did all this and did the calculations on the running cost we found that these units were less expensive to operate than the dehumidifiers and because we were bringing in more fresh air gave you a much better atmosphere in the pool hall.

What would you say to those who think dehumidifiers to be more efficient? 

This is a really big bug bear of mine, the problem is that they are marketed as Heat pumps and everybody thinks that a heat pump is efficient.   But its actually just an efficient way of using electricity to heat, and as electricity is 3 to 4 times more expensive than gas it may not be as cost effective for your project. But these units aren’t heat pumps they are dehumidifiers. A heat pump takes heat out of something like a bore hole or ambient air and heats something else like your office or hot water. Now the important point to note here is that the heat ‘source’ and the heat ‘destination’ are completely separate. A refrigerant dehumidifier draws moist air over the cold evaporator coil of the system which cools the air down and condensation is formed thus dehumidifying the air and then the air passes over the condensing coil of the refrigeration system which reheats the air. The dehumidified air is then released into the room, but the important point is that the air that you are heating is the same air that you cooled beforehand, so it isn’t operating as a heat pump because there is no separation of the heat source and the heat destination.

What would you consider to be Best Practice in Swimming Pool Ventilation?  

I would always look to be doing 4 air changes as a minimum and then 10 to 15 l/s per m2 of pool surface depending on the use. If your building is being built to building regs this will provide enough air to cope with the heat losses. If you are working on an older building you may need to cross check the airflow to ensure that you are doing enough air to cope with the heat losses as well.  

What options are available for a Pool Ventilation system specification?

You can have the option of remotely controlling your ventilation unit from a mobile phone because we are a Trend OEM we can supply systems that are BACnet compatible and we can program these controllers to do exactly what you would like them to do. You could be sitting by the pool in Spain and tell your ventilation unit to cool the pool hall down.   We also recently introduced ‘Scent solution’ an integrated system that dispenses a wide range of selected aromas such as alpine air, apple fresh, citrus, cherry blossom, cinnamon, jasmine, lavender, lemongrass, ocean breeze, to name but a few. It is situated within the main plant or externally to provide fragrances that make the pool hall experience more like an expensive spa.

Compared to other UK manufacturers of swimming pool ventilation units what is it that makes Recotherm ventilation units unique? 

Everything in our unit is fully modulating, our competitors use step control on the fans or on/off control on the heating. To give you an idea of why this is significant, if you can remember the heating controls on a car before we had climate control. You had a slider with red and a blue section on it. When you got into your car on a on cold morning you slid the controls right over to full heat if you got a little too hot you didn’t move it all the way back to full cold you moved it a little bit back toward the cold and then if it didn’t cool you down enough you moved it a little bit more. You do this because you’ve got a brain and that is exactly the way our units operate where our competitors operate with an on/off heating control, where you get all the heat or none of it, there is no middle ground.

What new product innovations are you working on at the moment?

I’ve got a client who actually installs heat pumps, ground source heat pumps on large houses and he has brought a number of swimming pool ventilation units from us, he was having trouble getting a house ventilation unit big enough for these lare houses he was doing and he approached us and said could we build one. It’s basically a similar version of what we do on the pools so it just needed slight modifications to an existing unit to make it work as an MVHR unit. We aren’t actively marketing this at the moment but if there is a need who knows.

And Martin what is your vision of the future for Best Practice in Swimming Pool Ventilation – what are the next steps in the evolution of technology in this field?

I think filtration will become more and more important. You may have noticed in newspapers and on TV all the talk on air pollution especially in the big cities. The level of filtration in most units at the moment is the G4 panel filter which we supply in our units, but we can now supply an F7 filter which is far more efficient on these smaller particles. I can see in 5 years time all units having a minimum of an F7 filter or even greater, so I think that’s where the market will be going.

Well, Martin thank you for joining us today for this latest edition of the BNE Product News ‘Project Viewpoint’ podcast series. The Recotherm brand is clearly a leading light in the world of pool ventilation and setting the pace in many product areas with innovations such as fully modulated pool ventilation units and also the scent solutions that you have made available.  It has been a pleasure talking with you and we wish the Recotherm brand continued success for the future.  

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to participate in ‘Project Viewpoint’.

You’re very welcome.

Goodbye.

Cheers. 

For more information about the Recotherm range of products go to www.recotherm.co.uk

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The only product of its kind currently available, the expertly engineered PRECISION adjustable frame completely transforms the installation process for construction professionals and streamlines the specification process for architects and specifiers.

This is achieved through the product’s unique construction, which enables the frame to be fully self-adjusting to the specific dimensions of each structural opening, ensuring the installation is fit for purpose providing the highest standards in accuracy and removing the requirement for plastic packers for a safer, faster and simpler installation process.

Factory applied intumescent strips to the outer frame also eliminates the need for intumescent mastic application as a secondary operation on site when installing the frame.

The PRECISION frame dramatically reduces fitting times and eliminates the risk of using non-compliant components throughout installation, which may not have been tested in conjunction with the riser door itself.

The patent pending PRECISION adjustable frame is now supplied as standard with Profab Access’ high quality steel INTEGRA 4000 Series Fire Rated Riser Doors.

Profab Access was the first UK manufacturer to have its concealed Riser Doors bi-directionally fire tested and certified by an accredited third party. The PRECISION adjustable frame has also been bi-directionally fire tested as an entire doorset with the INTEGRA 4000 Series Riser Door for up to 120 minutes, receiving the CERTIFIRE accreditation for installation in unlined shaft walls and solid wall construction.

This provides architects, specifiers and contractors with a completely certified solution, as both the frame and the riser door have been bi-directionally tested as a single doorset and are supplied with comprehensive documentation to evidence their performance credentials and adherence to all relevant regulations, including BS EN 1634-1:2014 +A1:2018.

Marcus Parnham, Commercial Director at Profab Access, said: “As one of the industry’s leading manufacturers, we have a responsibility to push the boundaries of this product category and ensure every access solution we supply delivers the highest standards in performance and compliance.

“Our new patent pending PRECISION adjustable frame represents a real step change for the industry, supporting professionals in fulfilling their duty of care by going above and beyond current legislation in delivering the highest standards of due diligence and achieving constant compliance for the entire doorset, including the materials used throughout the installation process. The frame is the result of our unwavering commitment to innovation and providing the built environment with the very highest standards in access solutions.”

The PRECISION adjustable frame is constructed with an all-in-one smoke, intumescent and acoustic FS1000 seal, eliminating the need for additional intumescent mastic when installing the frame into a flexible or solid wall construction. This cost efficient and sustainable material contains no halogen compounds and will not emit toxic gas when heated, ensuring the safety of building occupants in the event of a fire.

As an official Made in Britain member, Profab Access’ comprehensive portfolio of Riser Doors and Access Solutions are manufactured at its headquarters in Atherstone by its experienced team of design and engineering experts.

For further information on Profab Access and its range of riser doors, access panels, and steel doors, call +44(0)1827 718222 or visit www.profabaccess.com.

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‘Good Ventilation: Heat Recovery Systems And The Role They Play’

Vortice ‘Brand Leader’ Interview Podcast Series – Transcript to support learning

Every effort has been made to flawlessly transcribe the interview to support learning but please consider the recorded audio of the interview as the actual source of information for learning purposes.

Hi this is Mick de Leiburne for BusinessNet Explorer

And welcome to the – second out of six – in our ‘special edition’ series of ‘Brand Leader’ podcasts, where we discuss how Good Ventilation can be achieved in the home and in the workplace – with Vortice thought leadership and product solutions.

Well, as the world recognises the role of Good Ventilation, Jennifer Quinn, Marketing Manager at Vortice joins us today – to talk about Heat Recovery Systems and the role they play…

Jennifer joins us on the phone…

Hi Jennifer, good to get another chance – to tap into your knowledge – on the key areas of Good Ventilation on the BusinessNet Explorer podcast and today we are focussing on Heat Recovery Systems.

Hi Mick, yes I am looking forward to discussing all about Heat Recovery today and the features of it.

Well let’s start today with ‘What are heat recovery systems?’

A heat recovery unit is a centralised mechanical ventilation system which recovers the heat and energy contained in stale indoor air before extracting it, by passing it over a heat exchanger and then adding the recovered energy, be it warm or cold back into the rooms.

So, are heat recovery units actually all about energy efficiency?

That’s part of the story yes, the units are designed to recover the air energy within a building, be it warm or cold, and then the units put a percentage of that back into the home, therefore your heating doesn’t have to work as hard and therefore heating bills are lower which is a cost saving. There are also huge additional benefits too.

In a post-pandemic world, the importance of good ventilation and indoor air quality has had a spotlight shone upon it – heat recovery units not only bring fresh air continuously into the building, they also filter the air that they introduce.

What sort of heat recovery units does Vortice offer?

VORTICE offers a whole collection of heat recovery units – domestic, commercial, industrial – specifically designed to assist with good air quality and filtration whilst ensuring the best of our energy efficient features. The family of heat recovery units offered by VORTICE includes filters which can take out many of the pollutants in the atmosphere.

Because the VORTICE heat recovery unit filters the fresh air being introduced into a property, it helps to protect the health of the occupants and reduce the risk of transferring viruses. People spend up to 90% of their time indoors and with growing evidence of airborne pathogens and viruses moving around our buildings, it is really vital to ensure a building has effective ventilation.

*Good Ventilation is increasingly becoming recognised as a ‘must have’. How would you summarise – the need for Heat Recovery – and the product solutions you have developed at Vortice?

Good ventilation, specifically Heat Recovery, is fundamental in reducing the spread of bacteria and virus and a continuously running heat recovery unit ensures a constant supply of fresh filtered air into the home. Our range covers domestic heat recovery units from our small HR200 unit, to our Passivhaus accredited Avel 450 D. We also have a wide range of commercial and industrial heat recovery units like the Vort Invisible Mini, which is Void mounted, ideal for hotel rooms.

Government advisors have been reiterating the important role that ventilation plays in our health during this recent pandemic and the VORTICE heat recovery systems can certainly impact upon the quality of the indoor air in our homes.

This week, the British Heart Foundation have done ‘Love Your Lungs Week’ which is highlighting the fight for clean air so its really appropriate that we are talking about this today.

Yes, it is a fantastic initiative. Well Jennifer thank you again for joining us today on this – second in a series of six – special edition BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ interview podcasts with Vortice – discussing best practice in Good Ventilation.

Thank you Mick, thank you for your time today

Always a pleasure.

For more information about the Vortice range of products, please go to www.vortice.ltd.uk

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‘The importance of Good Ventilation in the Indoor Workplace’

Vortice ‘Brand Leader’ Interview Podcast – Transcript to support learning

Every effort has been made to flawlessly transcribe the interview to support learning but please consider the recorded audio of the interview as the actual source of information for learning purposes.

Hi this is Mick de Leiburne and welcome to this special edition of the BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ podcast for the Construction & Building Services industry, where we look at product innovations that meet the evolving specification needs for product specifiers.

Well, as the ‘new normal’ starts to take shape, lockdown eases and people are encouraged to return to the workplace, there’s a huge emphasis on how to make buildings healthier places to be and nothing more so, than how important good ventilation in indoor spaces is to mitigating the spread of airborne viruses, micro-organisms and bacteria and also to the wellbeing of the occupants helping people to feel more invigorated in the workplace. Better for workers and better for employers with everyone feeling protected and revitalised by a constant flow of clean air in the room.

Well, one way, dependent on where your workplace may be, is to open a window or vent or alternatively you can tap into the possibilities that advances in technology offer, like Vortice, a brand that is focussing on Air Purification as a solution – and we are lucky enough to have Jennifer Quinn, Marketing Manager at Vortice with us today to explain how that works and how effective it can be in making people feel safe and great in the workplace environment.

Jennifer joins us on the phone….

Hi Jennifer, thanks for joining us today for this BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ podcast – I know how busy you are

Hi Mick, thank you for inviting me today to talk about ventilation.

Well Jennifer, let’s start with ‘Why is ventilation in our indoor spaces important’?

At Vortice, we’ve always had a strong focus on the health benefits of good ventilation, people spend around 90% of their time indoors and unless we take steps to ventilate our homes and workplaces correctly, the quality of the air we breathe can be 50 x more polluted than outdoor air, with all the associated health risks. Symptoms like dizziness, watery eyes, fatigue, headaches coughing.

We also only need to contemplate the number of cleaning products we use within our houses, hair sprays, paints, air fresheners, carpets. All of these things we bring into our buildings that are feeding our indoor air quality. This can cause issues like condensation and mould which can worsen skin allergies and possibly respiratory conditions. Also, today’s new build buildings tend to be extremely airtight, which has its benefits in terms of heating bills and insulation, but does cause issues with fresh air coming into the property.

And why now, in particular, would you say – it is more important than ever – in the indoor Workplace?

As everyone is aware at the minute, the current pandemic, with Covid, its never been more important now to think about the air you breathe, especially indoors and the Government have given a raft of information supporting the needs to ventilate properly, and they explain things like in poorly ventilated rooms the amount of virus in the air can build up increasing the spread of Covid, especially if there is a lot of infected people in the room. The virus can also remain in the air after the infected person has left, so bringing fresh air into a room and removing older stale air that contains virus reduces the chance of spreading Covid 19. The more fresh air that is brought inside or [older stale air] extracted out of the room the quicker any air borne virus will be removed.

What are the key products that can help to achieve these goals would you say?

Vortice believe there are 3 fundamental factors in helping reduce the spread of Covid 19. They are Ventilation, Purification and Sanitisation. So first stage is to make sure your room is well ventilated by means of an adequate fan to remove the stale air or to open a window. The next stage would be to make sure the air is purified, so we have a range of air purifiers called the Depuro Pro and these include HEPA filters which are able to retain up to 99.995% of pollutants and reduce the risk of pathogens such as virus and bacteria There is also a version with a photocatalysis UVC lamp which also sanitises by removing bacteria and virus which makes this extremely effective against the spread of Covid and other viruses. We’ve had excellent feedback from these units used in hospitals, care homes, gyms, nurseries. And then the third stage would be to sanitise. Other than having a range of hand dryers and soap dispensers we’ve recently launched a UVLOGIKA SYSTEM, which is a germicidal UV-C lamp, which is ideal for disinfecting surfaces. Its radiation quickly eliminates up to 99% of bacteria, virus and other pathogens that are deposited on surfaces.

Well that’s a fantastic range that seems to cover all the bases. And finally, how do you see this product range developing in the next few years – the increasing focus on the need to improve the quality of the air that we breathe indoors, in such a variety of settings, must provide a great scope for product development ?

Yes, so we are always continually looking at expanding our ventilation, purification and sanitisation range and we are looking always to grow our product ranges in Domestic, Commercial and Industrial. We have recently just acquired a Spanish company, Casals Ventilation, which is going to enable us to expand our industrial offering on the market, so going forward we really want to be innovative and pro-active in regards to product development to the environment and issues that surround us.

Well Jennifer, thank you again for joining us for this BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ podcast today. Vortice are clearly one of the leading lights in the world of ‘clean air’ ventilation ‘product research, design and development’, with an innovative range of products available – that are designed to help us all to stay safe and feel good – as we return to our shared indoor workspaces!

Thank you Mick – thank you for your time.

It’s been an absolute pleasure.

For more information about the Vortice range of products, please go to www.vortice.ltd.uk

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Original Crittall windows have been replaced and upgraded on the main street frontage of one of Leeds’ most historic quarters.

Briggate is a pedestrianised principal shopping street in the city centre containing many historic buildings including, tucked away from view in Lamberts Yard, the only remaining Elizabethan timber framed property in the City dating back to circa 1600.

The walkway leading to that heritage enclave passes through No. 162 Briggate, a 1950’s

 vintage commercial and residential block where Think Architecture has installed replacement Crittall steel windows.

“No.162 had original Crittalls and, as with all the buildings around Lamberts Yard, things were in various appalling states,” said Simon Smithson, director of Pudsey, West Yorkshire-based, Think Architecture.

The original single glazed windows in the three-storey no.162 were replaced with double glazed lookalike Homelight windows. The building now houses new apartments and a ground-floor commercial premises.

“I have to say,” added Mr Smithson, “ that the Crittall windows are a wonderful system. Several years ago we did a job and used what was described as a ‘Crittall-like’ system. Well, that was very disappointing whereas the Crittall system is a great system, so well made.” www.crittall-windows.co.uk 

 

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BusinessNet Explorer is an evolving bite-sized learning platform – delivering product news and information for product Specifiers and Buyers in the Construction & Building Services industry and associated Manufacturing and Energy sectors – in engaging Audio, Visual and Audio/Visual formats – via its Virtual Exhibition and Podcast Channels.

Specifiers and Buyers can learn about new products, product range updates, branding updates, exhibition appearances, explore case studies and application stories, find out about new CPD’s and Webinars – and listen to the BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ interview series of podcasts – to hear manufacturer thought leaders discuss state-of-the-art product innovations – designed to meet and often exceed the latest industry product specification requirements.

A spokesperson for BusinessNet Explorer revealed how the BNE platform can also support Continuing Professional Development for specifiers and buyers ”BNE is a hub of bite-sized / micro-learning product news and information content that allows Manufacturers to reach ‘on the move’ multi-workspace based specifiers and buyers via its Virtual Exhibition and Podcast Channels in engaging ‘easy to digest’’ educational chunks, that in many cases, such as the ‘Brand Leader’ interviews that are also available in Audio podcast format on Google Podcasts, Apple / iTunes and Spotify and the case studies/application stories that can also be found in our Audio/Visual podcast library, could go toward meeting any targets that may be set for annual ‘Reflective CPD / Passive Learning and ‘Self-Directed / Unstructured Learning’ CPD points. Each podcast has a transcript to support learning and CPD”

Dave Marshall-George, Sales Director at Humidification specialist manufacturer Condair, interviewed recently by Mick de Leiburne for a BNE ‘Brand Leader’ podcast explains, “Podcasts are a great way for engineers to listen and learn whilst in their car or on their way to work. We wanted to engage with this bite-sized learning channel to deliver useful information on a topic we are seeing more and more interest in from consultants and AHU companies. Our short podcast on evaporative cooling is very easy listening and perfect for a 10-minute coffee break escape.”

Click to hear the Condair Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/businessnetexplorer/construction-building-services-bne-product-news-condair-brand-leader-interview

To catch up with the latest industry product news and information in ‘easy to digest’ bite-sized learning formats – wherever and whenever you are available – just visit www.BusinessNetExplorer.com

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‘Exploring The Evaporative Cooling Opportunity For HVAC System Specifiers’

Condair ‘Brand Leader’ Interview podcast – Transcript to support learning

Every effort has been made to flawlessly transcribe the interview to support learning but please consider the recorded audio of the interview as the actual source of information for learning purposes. 

Hi this is Mick de Leiburne for BusinessNet Explorer and welcome to a special edition of our ‘Brand Leader’ interview series.

Well, Evaporative Cooling is not a new Air Conditioning technique. Its use can be traced all the way back – to ancient Egyptians – wafting air over water filled pots. However, its popularity for providing high capacity, low energy cooling has recently exploded, largely due to its use in modern data centres.

Today we are joined by Dave Marshall-George, Sales Director at humidity control specialist, Condair, to look at how humidifiers can be used in Air Handling Units to take advantage of this energy and cost efficient cooling strategy.

Dave joins us on the phone….Hi Dave thank you for joining us today on the BNE Product News podcast for the Construction & Building Services industry

Hi Mick and thank you for inviting me to explore the Evaporative Cooling opportunity for HVAC system specifiers

So Dave, let’s start initially with the science – could you talk us through the physics of Evaporative Cooling?

The physics of evaporative, or adiabatic cooling, as it is sometimes referred to, is based around a transfer of energy. As water transforms from its liquid state into a gaseous state, it consumes energy. And this energy is taken from the air, in the form of heat or thermal energy.

In order to evaporate one kilo of water at 15°C, around 680W of thermal energy is used. Which means that for every kilo of water evaporated into an atmosphere, 680W of evaporative cooling is achieved.

Now for a mechanical cooler to deliver 680W of cooling, it would consume around 220W of electrical energy. However, it’s possible for a single evaporative humidifier to deliver over 1,000kg of moisture and a resulting 680kW of cooling, while still operating on less than half a kW of electrical energy. Amazingly that’s over 500 times the cooling delivered from a mechanical cooling system, from a very similar amount of electrical energy.

But, the potential to use evaporative cooling is limited by how much moisture the air can absorb – and this comes down to its relative humidity. If the air is already very humid, evaporative cooling’s effect is limited. But not necessarily eliminated, as some AHU strategies will still greatly benefit from evaporative cooling even in very humid climates.

What are the main strategies for using Evaporative Cooling in Air Handling Units?

There are three. Direct evaporative cooling, In-direct evaporative cooling and another form of In-direct, which we call Exhaust air in-direct.

Now the first is quite simple. Direct evaporative cooling. The AHU brings in fresh outside air, it passes it through an adiabatic humidifier where it absorbs moisture and is cooled. This then cooled air is supplied into the indoor environment. A percentage of the indoor air is continually vented outside, thus allowing more cooled, fresh air in.

This strategy is ideal for warm dry climates and buildings that can have high levels of ventilation. However, its not so useful in very humid environments, as the evaporation of the water from the humidifier depends greatly on the incoming air being able to absorb it.

The second strategy is in-direct. The air handling unit in this strategy is operating with two airstreams. One that draws cool outside air into the AHU, and then passes it through a heat exchanger before venting it outside. Whilst the other air stream extracts warm air from the building, passes it through the same heat exchanger and then reintroduces it into the building. Neither airstream physically mixes, but the colder outside airstream is used to cool the warmer internal airstream via the heat exchanger.

Now this can cool a building even without evaporative cooling, but if you apply a humidifier to the external airstream prior to the heat exchanger, you can reduce the temperature of that external airstream and get even more cooling from the system. It does however, rely on the outside air being colder than the inside air, either before or after humidification. So again, in a very hot and humid climate, this may not be the most effective strategy.

However, in temperate climates, this strategy is ideal for data centres or other secure buildings, as it reduces the risk of introducing pollutants to a building from outside. It should be noted however, that this isn’t a ventilation system, so fresh air will still need to be introduced by some other method.

The third strategy is exhaust air in-direct. This method also uses a heat exchanger. Warm air is extracted from the room and passed through a humidifier, where it saturates as close to 100%RH as possible. This cools the air as much as possible before it’s passed through the heat exchanger and subsequently vented outside. Another airstream draws fresh air in from outside and passes it through the heat exchanger, where it is cooled by the humidified and exhausted room air.

The heat exchange can reduce the temperature of the incoming air by a few degrees, which doesn’t replace the need for mechanical cooling but can significantly reduce the requirement for it. This strategy can also be used in hot and humid regions, as the room air that the humidifier is cooling is always dry enough to be able to absorb moisture.

You have a new Webinar on this subject where one of the key benefits highlighted is Energy Savings. Could you describe one of the case studies presented in the Webinar and explain when and how – the Energy Savings are achieved?

Yes. Our webinar on the 29th September explains the psychrometrics of evaporative cooling, details each strategy and uses real life case studies to illustrate their potential. One such case study is a client we work with in the telecommunication sector. They were needing to replace mechanical cooling systems in rooms that suffered high heat gain from electronic equipment.

They developed an air handling unit that uses a direct evaporative cooling strategy. Rather than using mechanical chillers to cool the room, they brought in outside air and vented the internal air. During the winter, it can run in free cooling mode without any need for evaporative cooling, but when the outside temperature rises to around 20°C, the evaporative cooler switches on and increases the cooling capacity. This allows the AHU to successfully achieve the indoor target condition without ever needing mechanical cooling.

In total the new AHU strategy reduced the electrical energy consumption of the cooling system by an amazing 80% in comparison to the previous mechanical system.

The opportunity for the HVAC industry is clearly exciting – how can our listeners learn more – about Evaporative Cooling – and its benefits?

Alongside the webinar we have coming up, Condair also offers training on this topic in the form of a CIBSE approved CPD. We can offer these 1 hour training sessions either online or in-person. Anyone can request one from our website at www.Condair.co.uk.

In fact, our website has a lot of information, downloads and case studies on this topic for anyone wanting to learn more. It’s a great place to start. It was Condair.co.uk.

Another online resource is a Condair website called MyCoolBlue.com. That’s MyCoolBlue.com. The website uses historical weather data from over 300 locations around the world to accurately calculate how much cooling can be provided via evaporative, free air and mechanical systems for any exhaust air indirect cooling project. Simply input the parameters of the AHU and the desired indoor conditions, and the system will project the cooling capacity that can be delivered across the three different methods.

And lastly, I’d suggest if anyone wants to learn more, simply contact Condair. Our experienced sales team is always happy to talk to consultants, contractors or AHU companies about the potential savings AHU evaporative coolers can offer.

That’s great and we’ll include the link for the Webinar in the description for this podcast for our listeners. Well, Dave thank you again for joining us today on this special edition BNE Product News ‘Brand Leader’ interview podcast discussing why including Evaporative Cooling is such an exciting option to explore when considering ‘state of the art’ best practice in Air Conditioning in a variety of applications.

Thank you for inviting me Mick. I’ve enjoyed exploring the subject with you. GoodBye.

That’s a pleasure. Cheers.

For more information about Condair please go to www.condair.co.uk

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If you’re looking for more evidence of how Saint-Gobain PAM’s Pre-Assembled Ensign range can help your next building project, take a minute to listen to Lee Rouvray, Contracts Director of Fitzpatrick Mechanical Services who explains and shows how it made life simpler for his team on the site of the Peninsula Hotel in London.

Do not hesitate to contact our technical sales team for further information on 01952 262529 or visit our website www.pamdrainage.co.uk.

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Decorative specialist, Armourcoat®, was recently chosen to provide finishing touches to a unique and stylish dental and aesthetics clinic in the iconic Battersea Power Station development.

The striking interior was designed by LaVita Style and features Perlata providing a rich, yet elegant finish to the walls in the reception area and corridors. The design uses light and shade to reveal subtle textures and tones resonating a calm and reassuring atmosphere. Working to a soft colour palette the use of additional custom ArmourFX Granite polished plaster panels to the front desk creates a stunning first impression.

Lucy Walker, interior designer at Lavita Style Ltd comments “We chose Armourcoat for their specialist expertise and creativity and were absolutely delighted with the end results. We wanted to create a striking yet welcoming reception and waiting area and this was achieved using Armourcoat’s beautiful Perlata and Granite finishes on the walls and desk panels. Armourcoat realised our vision throughout the whole design process and delivered seamlessly. I would certainly choose Armourcoat for any future projects”.

The new dental practice, White + Co, is part of the innovative redevelopment work to convert the Grade II* listed legendary landmark into a unique blend of residential, commercial, and cultural spaces. Armourcoat has also been specified in various other projects within this exciting development including the Boiler House and Switch House West where Tactite was applied within various bathrooms, ensuites and powder rooms and Embassy Gardens which included Koncrete finishes to entrance areas and columns.

Client: White & Co, Battersea Power Station, London
Designer: La Vita Style @lavitastyleltd
Contractor: Apollo Interiors
Photography: Mark Bolton @markboltonphoto

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The Saniflo Sanicubic macerator pump is breathing a new lease of life into a highly-acclaimed piece of British heritage – a replica of the famous ship, the Golden Hinde, known for circumventing the globe during the 16^th century under the command of British explorer Sir Francis Drake. Sitting in dry dock, the replica ship, which has also sailed the seas worldwide, is now a stunning floating museum and events’ venue near London Bridge.

The owner of the Golden Hinde, Roddy Coleman, who has ensured the ship remains faithful to the original, first installed a Sanicubic a couple of years ago in the dock beneath the ship to take the waste from two WC cubicles used by visitors and staff. It discharges waste up and along the dock walls through 35mm pipes to connect to the sewers above at street level. During this time, it has provided faultless service, so when the team decided to install on-board facilities during the COVID-19 lockdown, he knew that a Sanicubic would fit his brief. Located underneath the floorboards in the bow of the ship, it is perfectly positioned to take waste from two new WCS cubicles and basins as well as a new kitchen area in the galley. A dishwasher, sink and icemaker are all plumbed into the Sanicubic thanks to its multiple outlets. The plumbing work was carried out by Toby Millinder, who is a full-time employee at the Golden Hinde and in charge of all the updates;

“The Sanicubic has enabled us to do our own catering on board for events rather than bring food on board. We also have children for overnight stays on board and it means they don’t need to alight to undertake night time ablutions. It was very straightforward to install and I have run it into the same lengths of pipework along the dock walls, which saved a lot of time and work. Since the installation we have had a wedding on board, as well as an overnighter for a group of children. It has made life much easier all round.”

Saniflo Head of Marketing and Product Management, Ann Boardman, says: “It’s wonderful to see pieces of British heritage being lovingly preserved and given a new lease of life ready to welcome back the public after COVID-19. Thanks to Saniflo, such national treasures can go on providing wonderful experiences to members of the public. There really is a Saniflo solution to suit all manner of quirky public and private establishments, even in places where there is no mains drainage.”

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