Music to GK’s ears

June 2009

GK Industrial has designed and installed a retrofit energy efficient heating and cooling fresh air ventilation system into HMV's Birmingham Fort store. HMV needed to replace an outdated and inefficient heating and cooling system which staff had been finding the in store environment uncomfortable due to the system offering little comfort during hot and cold periods.

To reduce costs, only the rear air handling and compression units were replaced, with GK leaving the existing ductwork and front grills, but instead giving them a thorough clean and maintenance to improve the system efficiency.

The system comprised a heat exchanger and ‘Free Cooling’ solution. The heat exchanger replaces stale moisture laden air with warmed fresh air giving efficient recovery of heating or cooling energy to treat incoming fresh air. It allows balanced air movement throughout the store and saves up to 80% of wasted heat.

The system offers a simple and flexible solution where there is a demand for a changeover capability between heating and cooling, ensuring a constant, comfortable indoor store ambient climate.

‘Free Cooling’ offers vastly improved air quality. It is triggered when the external ambient air is at a lower temperature than indoors, drawing ‘fresh air’ into the store through the ventilation system. This results in significant energy savings, reduced energy bills and lower maintenance.

The high level of energy efficiency from the system offers a substantial reduction in energy consumption, whilst increasing in the corresponding EER/COP energy legislation ratings.