A former tram station in Bristol has become the first building in the UK to benefit from large scale R32 air conditioning.
The Art Deco building in Gloucester Road was originally a main station for electric trams, and is now occupied by one of the largest environmental business networks in the UK – Future Economy Network.
Renamed, the Future Leap Hub, the refurbished ground floor now brings together likeminded companies and acts as a showcase for sustainable businesses. It offers a carbon neutral, co-working space, meeting rooms and an event space for hire, in which weekly, sustainability themed events are hosted.
The F-Gas Regulations are affecting all air conditioning systems and the next step in the Phase Down of refrigerants with high global warming potential (GWP) takes place in January.
“We looked across the market at a whole host of technologies for our heating and cooling and when Mitsubishi Electric’s R32 system was recommended to us by Envira-Mech Services, we quickly realised it was the right product for us,” said Alan Bailey, Director of the Future Economy Group and Future Leap Ltd. “So far, we’ve been incredibly pleased with the end result.”
Future Leap is carbon neutral in its operation and has incorporated lots of sustainable technologies and solutions, including a carpet made from disused ghost fishing nets that have been reclaimed from the bottom of the ocean and turned into carpeting.
Envira-Mech Services is based in Clevedon, North Somerset and predominantly covers the south of England, whilst providing national coverage for specific clients. Offering a full design and installation facility for customers, Terry and his team are able to provide a complete turnkey service.
For Future Leap, the team also installed Lossnay mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). These deliver highly efficient ventilation to the building as they can recover up to 80% of the energy from outgoing stale air to use on the incoming fresh air.
When Future Leap took over the building, it was a former Maplin electrical goods store, and Envira-Mech Services had to first of all strip out the existing air conditioning before they could install the R32 City Multi and the Lossnay MVHR.
The three PURY YNW-A outdoor condensers are installed in a compound in the old Maplin storage yard and these serve 14 PEFY fan coil units throughout the ground floor. Although R32 is mildly-flammable, and room sizes were considered during the design phase, the level of ventilation mean that leak detection wasn’t required.