The Swan at Streatley, an upscale boutique hotel overlooking the River Thames in Berkshire, has been equipped with Toshiba’s award-winning variable refrigerant flow (VRF) air conditioning and digital inverter (DI) split systems as part of a major refurbishment.
The newly renovated hotel offers guests thoughtfully-designed contemporary rooms, spaces for weddings and parties, a gym and spa, a brasserie and bar with terrace, and all-day dining at the Coppa Club. These spaces are now air conditioned to the highest standard of comfort and energy efficiency with a combination of Toshiba SHRM-e three-pipe heat recovery VRF systems and DI splits, installed by Chapman Ventilation Ltd.
Four outdoor units provide condensing for the VRF system, while eight large capacity DI condensing units complete the split system. To maximise energy efficiency, the project includes three over-door air curtains to help keep the building cool in summer and warm in winter. The entire system is under intelligent oversight by a TCUK Black Pear control and monitoring system.
Toshiba’s class-leading three-pipe SHRM-e system achieves the highest across-the-range European Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ESEER) in the world, with a score of 8 and above in most capacities. It does this by harnessing waste energy within the building and transferring it to areas requiring heating or cooling.
“Unlike standard two-pipe air conditioning systems that can only either cool or heat at any given time, SHRM-e is able to provide simultaneous cooling and heating as required,” said Carter Dunn, Toshiba’s regional sales manager who headed the project. “This provides customers a year-round solution to indoor comfort.
“Toshiba’s system is not only efficient but highly flexible, and enables air conditioning to be delivered to buildings of all types. This is particularly important in character buildings, such as The Swan hotel, where the customer was keen to minimise impact and disturbance to the building fabric. It overcomes the need to use intrusive ductwork, with small dimension refrigerant pipework and low-profile and concealed indoor units within the building.”
In addition to breaking ground in terms of efficiency, compact size and low noise levels, SHRM-e delivers improvements across the board in terms of occupant comfort and ease of installation.
