Each of these components makes an important contribution to the performance and efficiency of the system as a whole. To operate efficiently, a system needs to be properly installed and the cooling and heating capacity has to match the internal dimensions of the area. Oversized units cost more to operate and do a poor job of comfort control, and poor installation can dramatically reduce the efficiency of the system and will cost more to operate.

Air Conditioning Solutions (UK) Ltd and our sister companies in the ACS Group, are experts in the design, installation and maintenance of most types of climate management and control systems. You will find on this website a range of equipment that may suit your application and will be pleased to come and carryout a free survey and advise you on the best route to saving you money and improving your environment.

Using natural warmth outside your building and heat stored in the earth, you can heat your office, factory or home in winter and provide cooling during the summer

The key to reducing carbon emissions from buildings is to use less fossil fuel and by utilizing a relatively new piece of technology called a heat pump, you can achieve significant cost savings. The heat pump is used to pull or withdraw renewable energy from the environment and amplifying the electrical energy.

Heat pump systems such as those produced by Mitsubishi Electric, can be used in place of a conventional gas or oil fired boiler for producing hot water and cooling in the summer.

Lower Carbon Emissions

Most people now accept that reducing emissions of carbon dioxide is important, and one way is to utilize this new technology and getting rid of the old systems. Heat pumps have a big future extracting heat from the residual air. A number of models have been approved by the government and listed qualify for the government’s Enhanced Capital Allowances. This is a taxable benefit to encourage the use of energy efficient equipment, allowing the costs of the equipment to be written off in the same year as it is purchased.

Air Conditioning Solutions (UK) Ltd have installed hundreds of these systems and always begin with a survey to calculate the energy requirements. Once the report has been prepared further meetings and discussion are held to guarantee a satisfactory solution. You may only want to cool one specific area for computers or server room – any of your requirements are important and may reduce your present energy consumption.

Poor ventilation, high temperatures and increased levels of CO2 will affect the performance of both teacher and pupils

Previous studies have found that classrooms are often inadequately ventilated, with the resultant increased risk of negative impacts on the pupils.

Higher levels of CO2 have also been shown to reduce the attention span of pupils and more than likely cause them to lose concentration even affecting their learning ability. Classrooms are frequently more densely populated, and with poor ventilation, levels of CO2 will rise faster. In general, many classrooms exceed the levels of CO2 going beyond set guideline values. In addition, classroom temperatures tended to be much higher in practice than the design assumed.

These research findings could explain unexpected tiredness, or ill health amongst pupils and teachers during the School year. Air Conditioning Solutions (UK) Ltd engineers are mindful of these effects and measure the room sizes affected and calculate the minimum heating, cooling and ventilation requirements for each room.

In a detailed report they their findings and this can be used to allay any concerns shown by parents or staff and form the basis of a proposal to correct any negative findings.

Air Conditioning Solutions work extensively in the field of education with currently more than 300 schools that have benefited from our recommendations.

To obtain more information or arrange a survey Email: info@airconsolutions.co.uk or phone 01327 810510

The new inverter based systems can be 30% plus more energy efficient than earlier models sold even 5 years ago. Approved by a division of the government agency DEFRA, for its energy efficiency each installation should qualify for a special tax benefit while domestic installations are VAT rated at only 5% rewarding consumers for their energy efficiency.

No longer considered a luxury, a standard feature in cars air conditioning is installed to heat and cool shops, commercial premises and increasingly in private homes. With the introduction of new technology, climate management is a cost effective tool and the way forward for reducing carbon emissions. By replacing older gas and oil-fired systems with energy efficient inverter based units, less energy is used and considerable sums of money saved.

The benefits of managing the environment where people are shopping and working are self-evident. The government are being pressed by some trade unions to adopt recommendations made by the WHO for a maximum temperature limit in the workplace of 24 degrees centigrade. Reports of lower absenteeism by staff and pupils in schools and offices show that keeping the building temperature to a comfortable level is a win-win solution in terms of energy management and productivity.

Most summers air conditioning installers struggle to meet demand from customers who left the decision until it was too late, missing the benefits at the height of record temperatures and denied cheaper heating during the winter. Even now there is still time to benefit from air conditioning this summer and look forward to reduced energy costs next winter.

Warehouse and factory spaces can get unbearably hot in the summer and seemingly impossible to cool.

By necessity in most industrial/production areas, doors and window are constantly opening and closing negating the benefits of a refrigerant based air conditioning system, the type more commonly used in shops, offices and in the public sector.

One alternative to conventional refrigerant based air conditioning, which may not always be suitable for large open spaces. Is to you use an evaporative process based upon an evaporative heat exchanging which takes advantage of the principles of latent heat of evaporation where tremendous heat is exchanged when water evaporates. By making use of this free latent energy in the atmosphere a cooling duty can be achieved that is quite comparable to refrigerant based systems whist consuming far less energy.

Evaporative cooling allows cool fresh air to circulate throughout a building forcing the stale hot air to be displaced. This principal of using air change as part of balanced ventilation system that in many climates will work for many days each year using the outside air to cool buildings; only on the hottest days does the cooling system kick in to cool the air before it is brought inside.

These principals have been in use for a very long-time and are tried and tested.

To produce the cooling water is piped to a unit placed outside on the roof of a building or fastened to an outside wall. The unit houses a large high-powered fan and as the warm air passes through special soaker-pads the heat exchange takes place as the water evaporates causing the temperature to drop by between 8 and 10 degrees centigrade.
A series of ducts channels the cool air efficiently to where its need either cooling the whole building or designated areas. Despite their heritage, the modern systems usually meet with the approval of regulators regarding energy consumption, and health requirements concerning water based systems.

With millions of evaporative coolers installed, worldwide this can be a quick and relatively low cost way of cooling down factory space, printing works and warehouses. They have been particularly successful in print works and for producing the right atmosphere in nurseries, garden centres and even bakeries. Installation is usually quick with minimal disruption and the resulting fresh cool air naturally relieves tiredness leading to less risk of accidents and a more enthusiastic workforce.

Think air conditioning and we generally think cool yet modern air conditioning systems provide one of the cheapest forms of heating available.

Having invested in what is for many people important extra living space, its essential you create a room that is perfect for relaxing with friends and family regardless of the season. However, all too often, the weather dictates when you use your conservatory, which makes it underutilized all summer and winter.

As with conventional heaters you need the right sized unit based upon the area that it has to heat and cool. Install one that is too large in capacity and you will be forever fiddling with the remote control to maintain the right temperature. Conversely, install one that is too small and you will remain cold in the winter and too hot at other times. Heating a conservatory in most parts of Great Britain is not such a problem but cooling can be.

Calculating the right size unit that will maintain a comfortable temperature is trickier. For example, if you already have blinds in place this will reduce the amount of additional cooling necessary warranting a smaller unit costing less money.

Effectively cooling and heating the room – as economically as possible – makes sense in much the same way you heat and try to keep other parts of the house cool in high summer. A major handicap with conservatories is that they are designed to attract the sun and without air conditioning, the amount of solar gain can render the room unusable on all too many occasions. Air conditioning is the ideal solution for this problem – especially a unique range of air conditioning units suitable for conservatories.
Once you have made the decision to air condition, your conservatory the next task is finding a reputable installer. We’ve all watched BBC’s ‘Rough Traders’ so make sure you do a little bit of home work first before making a decision. As a minimum requirement, the installer should be a member of the Heating and Ventilation Contractors Association (www.hvca.org.uk)

You should not be required to pay for a detailed survey, necessary to estimate the correct size of air conditioning unit. Also, make sure you know the brand of equipment being specified. David Knibbs, Managing Director of Air Conditioning Solutions (UK) Ltd, recommends you stick with products manufactured by the top 5 companies in the UK air conditioning sector. These will include makes produced by Mitsubishi, Daikin, Sanyo, Toshiba and Fujitsu. “Your installer should at least be a recognised and approved business partner for one or more these major companies, as well as being a member of the HVCA and Refcom.”

So there, you have it. The right means to spending more time this summer and next winter enjoying the extra room in your home. Modern air conditioning equipment uses a device called a ‘Heat Pump’ that works by extracting the residual warmth that always exists in the air. This clean, carbon free technology reduces the cost of heating by as much as 40% compared to gas and electricity.

As the world moves towards a low carbon economy the practices in western society of using gas and oil-fired boilers/furnaces for heating and air conditioning for cooling, is no longer sustainable in the longer term.

Using low-carbon technologies and increasing the use of renewable energy to deliver targets for reducing carbon dioxide is what the future holds for people all over the planet. Its now clear that if governments are to be supported in meeting targets for CO2 reduction then we all have to accelerate change in ‘heating’ and address ‘cooling’ in a responsible manner.

A relatively new device called a heat pump will become an integral part of any plan to reduce harmful gasses released into the atmosphere made possible by transferring heat energy from one environment to another. In cooling mode, air-conditioning works by using a refrigerant gas in an enclosed system. The heat pump technology transfers the heat absorbed by the gas in the enclosed area (room, industrial process) to the outside air, resulting in a cooling of the area in question. Then at the flick of a switch, the system can be reversed extracting heat from the outside air and bringing it indoors allowing rooms to be heated.

Movers of heat energy

Heat pumps have an important advantage in the area of efficiency. Unlike fossil fuel based heating systems, heat pumps extract available heat from the outside air producing gains in efficiency of approximately 3:1 and higher compared to electrical heating. Thus for every unit of energy consumed by the heat pump, three or more units of heat are gained. Heat pumps as movers of heat energy upgrade naturally occurring low temperature heat into useful high temperature heat (and vice versa) to provide cooling.

This technology is already well known in the air conditioning market and used throughout the world. In Sweden and Switzerland who were early adopters heat pumps are used as a primary source for heating and producing hot water. Heat pump technology is very flexible, with excellent energy efficiency and CO2 reduction potential. When it comes to cooling building, environments ‘free cooling and heat recovery’ strategies are of significant importance. The use of fresh air and natural ventilation when combined with an air conditioning system reduces energy consumption. Re-use of the warm air being expelled from a building to provide heat back into the building is better than warming-up the outside.

Heat pump systems are at the heart of sustainable heating and cooling and from the economic perspective; the government support this technology having invested over £50m to boost the installation of heat pumps into Schools across England and Wales.

The money has been available in the form of grants also some independently run schools can benefit from an interest free Carbon Trust loan to pay for the installation and maintenance of heating using air source heat pumps.

Focus on sustainability

As part of the continuing program to refurbish every secondary school in England over the next few years this is providing a huge opportunity to change the way that renewable energy is used in public buildings. The BSF (Building Schools for the Future) programme involves the government devolving funds to LEA (Local Education Authorities) and schools for spending on maintaining and improving their buildings. Part of this requirement is a focus on the sustainability of schools, with schools being assessed for their environmental performance levels under the Government’s BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) standards.

The schools of the future should therefore have a more energy efficient construction, which are heated through more renewable sources and have lower operating costs. The low carbon buildings programme has made renewable energy sources such as heat pumps a really attractive and viable option, with the overall result being a reduction in Carbon Dioxide released into the atmosphere and that is to the benefit of all our futures.

Schools help to set an example

There are definite advantages for schools that invest in renewable technologies. Schools help to set an example in the use of sustainable energy sources to the rest of society. As young people grow up being more aware of renewable energy systems, it means they will become more widely accepted as the norm, not only for public buildings but also for domestic use.

Heat pumps in Schools form a key component in the renewable approach to a balanced budget. Not only can they make a huge contribution to reducing carbon emissions, they can also cut payback periods by 35 to 40% through fuel savings.

Air-source electric heat pumps are year-round space-conditioning systems capable of providing heating; cooling, and some new models now provide domestic hot water. Their appeal lies both in that they offer heating and cooling in a single piece of equipment-which usually means a lower capital cost-and in that they provide heat at a lower cost than electric resistance heating, gas or oil. They can be used in most commercial applications and some industrial processes, particularly those that generate waste heat.

An air-source heat pumps transfers energy between the outside air and either air or water inside a building. In cooling mode, it functions just like an air conditioner, moving heat from the inside of a building to the outside; in heating mode, the refrigerant flow is reversed so it takes low-temperature heat from the outside air and mechanically concentrates it to produce high-temperature heat, which is then delivered to a building. Because most of the heat is simply moved (pumped) from the outdoor air to the indoors, the amount of electricity required to deliver it is considerably less than would be required from electric resistance heat.

How could I use a heat pump?

A heat pump can be used where there is a low temperature source of heat. For example, heat can be transferred from a source at 5ºC and delivered as warm air at 40ºC.

Applications include space heating and cooling, pre-heating domestic hot water, heat recovery and dehumidification in both domestic and industrial sectors.

Does a heat pump use renewable energy?

Yes, the source is usually renewable energy from an ambient heat source or waste energy. For example, with a 3:1 performance ratio, for every three units of heat delivered, two units can be from the renewable heat source and one from the electrical power supply. A heat pump, operating on a ‘green electricity’ supply from an accredited renewable source, offers emissions-free heating and then three units of renewable energy would be delivered for every one unit of energy purchased as ‘green electricity’.

What are the different heat sources?

Ambient heat from water, air, or the ground; or waste heat from industrial processes or combined heat and power units are often used. In air-source heat pumps, passing air at ambient temperature over a finned heat exchanger, thus heat is extracted into the evaporator of the heat pump. In a water source heat pump, river, lake or ground water is cooled as heat is extracted.

In the case of ground source heat pumps, the collector pipe is installed in one or more trenches or boreholes. A water/anti-freeze solution is pumped around this loop of plastic pipe, extracting heat from the ground.
The heat extracted from the ground or lake or river water is replaced by heat from the atmosphere.

What are the advantages of a heat pump system?

Energy Efficient: Heat pumps are very energy efficient as they consume a little energy (usually as electricity) in order to deliver three or four times as much energy as heat. The ratio of energy-out to energy-in depends on the operating conditions and typically varies between 2 to 1 and 5 to 1. The overall average is called the seasonal performance factor.

Environmental: Heat pumps access renewable or waste energy and so displace consumption of conventional fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal). As electricity generation technologies improve, the emissions performance from the combustion of fossil fuels and renewable electricity generating capacity increases, so the greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity consumption are reducing – making heat pumps even more environmentally beneficial.
Physical: Different types of heat pumps have different benefits. Ground source heat pumps have -
•    No visible external equipment
•    No external fans
•    Quiet running
•    Very little risk of accidental damage
•    Adaptable to many locations.

Economics of heating houses: The running costs of a heat pump are much less than a traditional gas boiler heating system, also LPG, oil and electricity. The initial capital cost is usually higher than other conventional heating systems. The ‘whole-life’ cost, combining the capital and running costs is favourable for heat pumps compared to fossil fuelled systems – and, especially, compared with other forms of electric heating.
Heat pump systems are used in commercial premises (offices, hotels, supermarkets) providing heating and cooling – and in some industrial processes and applications.

What about greenhouse gas emissions?

Heat pump systems consume energy in moving heat from one place to another. The principal use of energy in a heat pump is to generate the motive power to drive the compressor. The associated emissions depend on the power source driving the compressor. In the UK the heat pump will typically create around 55% of the greenhouse gas emissions from the most energy efficient domestic gas heating system (where the heat pump is providing space and domestic hot water heating).

We give you an all-inclusive ‘turnkey’ package which takes care of all the details of a project from start to finish and includes a free, no obligation, design and specification service tailored to suit specific needs and budgets.