Eco-Friendly Total HVAC Solutions
Respecting the environment around us
We are all more conscious now of the need to protect and respect the environment in which we live and work. Caswell has advised on and installed energy saving solutions for many Clients' premises.
The use of energy saving motors, inverter systems and Heat Recovery Units are actively encouraged and promoted by Caswell. These small but significant changes within a complete ventilation system benefit all concerned. Saving energy in these ways not only reduces operational and life-cycle costs for our clients, it also minimises the environmental impact on our planet.
Case Study - Nando's Restaurants
PROJECT: Nando's Jct27 Leeds
CLIENT: Nando's Restaurants
ARCHITECT: Harrison Design / Aedas Architects
MAIN CONTRACTOR: McGoff & Byrne
Nando's is a restaurant group providing a casual dining experience with a Portuguese theme. Each restaurant has a friendly, vibrant atmosphere created by an eclectic mix of global music, eye catching artwork and unique design features.
Nando's at Jct 27 Leeds is a flagship restaurant for the company. It is a free-standing, purpose-built restaurant designed from the outset to be Carbon Neutral. This project was essentially a test-bed for new technologies, construction methods and other innovative ideas which could potentially be replicated in future Nando's restaurants on a global scale.
From the initial stages of the project, Caswell were selected to be an integral part of the diverse design team to take on this challenge. Working with other designers and specialists within their fields, Caswell's scope of work included a complete suite of HVAC system solutions.
Notably, this included high-efficiency Heat Recovery Units which are used to provide tempered supply air to the washrooms and back-of-house areas. By recovering and reusing latent heat energy from the exhaust air...which would otherwise be wasted and expelled into the atmosphere...we provided a win-win solution.
The design of the Fresh Air Supply System utilised the thermal mass of the floor void to heat incoming air in the winter and cool it in the summer. In addition, a Solar Heating System was installed to provide underfloor heating. Auxiliary comfort temperature control in the restaurant itself was provided by air-conditioning fan coil units employing the latest Heat Pump Technology. Again, a Heat Recovery system was used to recover the considerable heat energy generated by the char-griddle; in this case it was used to heat water for use in the restaurant wash-up area.
All of these systems were controlled and all of the energy used was monitored by a state-of-the-art control system. Caswell also manufactured and installed the char-griddle, fryer and oven canopies along with the associated centrifugal fan and fully-welded, fire-rated ductwork.
The restaurant also incorporated a number of different sustainable features, including a living Sedam Roof, the use of reclaimed / reclaimable timber cladding and an electricity generator fuelled by waste cooking fat provided by a number of other Nando restaurants.
The generator's output was such that it not only produced sufficient electrical power for the restaurant but also contributed feed-in to the grid.