When a specialist heating and ventilation company moves into a brand new HQ, how does it decide what equipment to install in its own building?

In the case of HBS Group Southern, the choice was simple: Mitsubishi Electric. After more than 60 years in the business, installing systems in commercial and industrial settings, the company had plenty of experience on which to base its choice.

“We wanted the same high standard of kit for ourselves as we provide for our customers,” said Managing Director, Kevin Bull, “so we chose to install a selection of Mitsubishi Electric products, including the Lossnay RX5, which represent the most energy and cost-efficient solutions on the market.”

The Lossnay RX5 fresh air ventilation system reduces overall energy costs by extracting stale air from a room, recovering around 80% of the heat from it, and using this reclaimed heat to warm incoming fresh air. The system is based on specially treated ultra-thin corrugated paper which facilitates superior heat transfer and increases moisture permeability, enabling the exchange of both latent heat (humidity/moisture) and sensible heat (temperature).

City Multi Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air conditioning is used alongside the Lossnay system to provide employees with optimal working conditions within the building.

“We sell and install a range of Mitsubishi Electric equipment, because we appreciate the quality of their products and the technical support that they provide, so it made sense to us to have the same high standard of kit in our own building.

“The building is brand new, so naturally we took the opportunity to use it to demonstrate how technologies can work seamlessly together to provide an optimal office environment. The result is a reliable system that gives us great value for money with no reduction in performance.”

HBS has also installed an Ecodan® air source heat pump and hot water cylinder to serve under-floor heating, and photovoltaic panels to the roof to reduce electricity bills. The result is an office which helps meet the company’s long-term business objective of an energy-efficient and sustainable future.

For further details on the complete Lossnay range call 01707 282880 or visit the website www.airconditioning.mitsubishielectric.co.uk.

Manchester is celebrating the history and contribution of Irish communities with the opening of a new Irish World Heritage Centre in Queens Road, Cheetham Hill.  The Centre tells the story of many Irish emigrants now scattered all over the globe, including 22 US Presidents. 

At the heart of the 25 acre complex lies a reconstruction of an ancient Irish ring fort, built using stone imported from Ireland and constructed by Irish stone masons.  The tribute, with its large walled enclosure, provides the city with a rare and unique outdoor public space.

The design and build of the Centre has received an enviable ‘Excellent’ BREEAM rating which has been achieved in part by the installation of a sustainable, low carbon, energy efficient heating system from Mitsubishi Electric.

Willmott Dixon, builders of the new Centre designed the new heating system in collaboration with renewable specialist A & B Engineering from Liverpool.  The system uses an Ecodan® CAHV air source heat pump capable of delivering 43kW at -3°C to provide underfloor heating to the Centre. 

For every 1kW of electricity the Centre uses to power the air source heat pump, 3.2kW’s of heat can be delivered to the building; 69% of which is renewable energy.

“Our whole ethos for the Centre was to build it using as many sustainable materials and energy efficient technologies as possible,” said Michael Forde, Chairman of the Irish World Heritage Centre.  “The builders and contractors have done a terrific job and the addition of energy efficient heating will help us to keep carbon emissions and running costs to a minimum.”

The sustainability theme continues in the Centre’s restaurant which offers produce grown on its own allotment and honey from its own bee hives.

Visitors are invited to approach the new building via the 'name walk' which features every known Irish surname, and walk across a water feature representing the crossing undertaken by every Irish person as they left their homeland.

For further information regarding Mitsubishi Electric’s full range of heating solutions, visit www.heating.mitsubishielectric.co.uk, or telephone 01707 282880.

Mitsubishi Electric has hailed the success of Manchester’s Greenbuild Expo (8-9 May) as proof that interest in low carbon heating is just as strong in the north as it is in the south of the UK.

The heat pump manufacturer had already reported increased interest from both commercial and residential sectors at London's Ecobuild in March and was pleased to see a similar level at Greenbuild.

“We were particularly impressed by the quality of the enquiries at our stand over the two days of Greenbuild which disproves any notion that the sluggish economy is dampening down interest in renewable heating,” explained John Kellett, General Manager of the company's Heating Division.

“I think people have realised that modern heat pumps really do offer a viable, cost-effective alternative to traditional methods of heating and we have seen a healthy increase in Ecodan® sales.”

Thousands of Ecodan units have now been installed across the UK from the Isle of Skye to the Isle of Wight, and Kellett believes that the number and quality of enquiries at shows like Greenbuild demonstrates the appetite for heating systems that can reduce both running costs and carbon emissions.

“As developers and building operators realise how flexible heat pumps are to design in and use, and how reliable and low maintenance they are, we are starting to see this convert into sales,” he added.

Mitsubishi Electric used its presence at Greenbuild to highlight the many benefits of installing sustainable heating systems to new and existing properties – both commercial and residential.

Ecodan systems are increasingly being used in schools, showrooms and offices that need to demonstrate an effective level of renewable heating, as well as in thousands of homes across the country from new build to solid brick Victorian buildings that have been thermally insulated.

Ecodan has led the domestic heat pump sector for more than four years and is now being specified in more and more commercial buildings as owners and developers realise the benefits air source heat pump technology can offer.

For more information on the award-winning range of Ecodan products and case studies on both domestic and commercial properties, visit www.heating.mitsubishielectric.co.uk. 

Ceredigion County Council has built a £5M state-of-the-art school in Brynhoffnant, Llandysul, mid-Wales, catering for over 150 pupils aged 4 to 11 years.  Ysgol T Llew Jones Primary School replaces four smaller schools in the area and has been constructed with sustainability at its heart. 

The project was jointly funded by the Welsh Government and the Council and designed and procured by its in-house Property Management and Projects Group.  To minimise the building’s impact on its surroundings the Group specified the use of an advanced ground source heat pump from Mitsubishi Electric to provide heating and hot water to the school.

The new system uses a closed loop geothermal system connected to five Ecodan® CHQ-P300YHM-A ground source heat pumps which extract heat energy from the ground.  This is compressed to upgrade it to a useful temperature and then transferred to Ecodan CAW400 and CAW600 heat pump boilers where it is used to provide the underfloor heating and sanitary hot water.

“The Council is very aware of the need for energy efficient buildings that make minimal impact on their environment so we aim to employ low-carbon, energy-saving technologies wherever possible,” explained Steve Fincham, Principle Mechanical Engineer at Ceredigion Council who led the design team. 

“The heating and hot water system had to be reliable, assist us in keeping the school’s on-going running costs to a minimum and befit such an impressive building,” continued Mr Fincham. “Quite a big ask really, but Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan ground source heat pump provided us with the ideal solution.”

The heat pump system was installed by Bristol-based specialist installer, Perfect Green Ltd who worked alongside Lorne Stewart, a leading provider of building engineering services who installed the mechanical and electrical infrastructure, including the pipework within the building. 

“The new system meets the exacting building and planning regulations that apply to all new facilities such as primary schools,” said Cyril Locke, Regional Director for Lorne Stewart. “Lorne Stewart has a wealth of experience in this area and is confident that the ground source heat pump installation will provide the school with maximum energy efficiency, minimal CO2 emissions and low maintenance - not to mention considerable cost savings.”

Other sustainable initiatives such as rainwater harvesting and natural ventilation have also been added to the building to enable pupils to use it as a learning tool and monitor the energy use of its environmentally-friendly features.

Mitsubishi Electric will monitor the highly efficient heating system in real time to collect

data on the long term effect of using a ground source heat pump system.

Mitsubishi Electric is using the Greenbuild Expo (8-9 May 2013, Manchester Central) to highlight the many benefits of installing sustainable heating systems to new and existing properties – both commercial and residential.

The company will use its stand (E31) to showcase how its Ecodan® heating range of air source heat pumps can be used to provide  a constant, comfortable level of heat to a building whilst lowering running costs and reducing carbon emissions.

Ecodan systems are increasingly being used in schools, showrooms and offices that need to demonstrate an effective level of renewable heating, as well as in thousands of homes across the country from new build to solid brick Victorian buildings that have been thermally insulated. 

Mitsubishi Electric’s Heating General Manager, John Kellett, said: “We’re delighted to be attending Greenbuild as it is one of the UK's leading sustainable refurbishment and building events, and essential for built environment professionals. The show covers everything from energy management and renewable technologies to sustainable materials and legislation updates.

“Our Ecodan system has led the domestic heat pump sector for more than four years, and we are delighted that more and more commercial building owners and developers are also realising the benefits and choosing to use our technology.”

In addition to its stand, Mitsubishi Electric’s Chris Newman will deliver a CPD-certified seminar on community heating schemes, where he will explain how large capacity heat pumps can be applied to existing multi-dwelling buildings that currently use direct electric heating without the need for expensive additional utility services to be brought on site.

/more

“The way heat is provided to high rise and low rise buildings needs to change,” says Newman. “Gas heating systems have been illegal in high rise buildings since the 1960s, for safety reasons. This has left many buildings utilising inefficient, expensive direct electric and storage heating.

“Centralised systems using renewable heat sources, such as heat pumps, provide a simple, carbon efficient and low-running cost solution for these kinds of buildings.”

According to Newman, the solution has the potential to reduce costs for the building owner or tenants and lower the carbon footprint, and in many cases funding mechanisms are available for district and community schemes to achieve the upgrade.

His seminar will be held on Thursday 9^th May at 12pm in the Foyer Room, and will include a full explanation of heat pump-based community heating schemes, illustrated by case studies, with an opportunity for attendees to raise questions after the presentation.

More information about the two-day event can be found on the Greenbuild website: www.greenbuildexpo.co.uk. For more information on Mitsubishi Electric’s range of products visit www.heating.mitsubishielectric.co.uk.