GREEN MATTERS All change
Commercial building owners are reassessing their properties and opting for redesigns as they adapt to fl exible occupancy due to new working pattens following the Pandemic. At the same time the UK has a legal target to meet Net Zero by 2050 driving carbon reductions in the built environment. Alexis Roberts, C&I channel marketing manager at Diff usion, explains how modular fan coil design is ideal for this type of refurbishment since the units can be easily reconfi gured to suit the building’s new purpose, while helping reduce carbon emissions too.
C
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...it has become
essential to be agile in making
changes to buildings."
ommercial property owners are under pressure. The Pandemic has aff ected how we work and as a result commercial buildings are being adapted to
accommodate fl exible-working patterns. This has led to an increasing number of buildings undergoing a change of use. In addition, they are also facing new regulations designed to curb carbon emissions from commercial buildings. Driven by the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target, all commercial buildings are now required to have an energy performance certifi cate (EPC) rated E or above, rising to C in 2027 and B in 2030. This is driving a wave of commercial property refurbishments since nearly three quarters of London’s commercial buildings are currently rated at D or below, according to estate agents Savills. Existing commercial properties off er a huge potential carbon saving since refurbishing them to modern energy- effi ciency standards generally produces less carbon than demolishing and rebuilding. In the UK approximately 70% of our non-residential building stock was built before 2000, according to the UKGBC, and 80% of the buildings that will
exist in 2050 already exist today. The property owners who will overcome these current challenges will be the ones who reduce building carbon emissions while adapting swiftly to the challenge of fl exible-working patterns, modifying existing buildings as needs change.
So, what does this mean for the Air Conditioning (AC) sector? Fortunately, forward-thinking manufacturers have been designing fl exible low carbon products to meet the changing needs of commercial property owners. Fan coil units have been a reliable and cost-eff ective choice for air conditioning systems over the years. They provide comfort cooling and heating with low energy and maintenance costs. There have been few changes to fan coils over the past 20 years but following extensive R&D there has now been a fundamental redesign with the fi rst modular, repeatable system being developed that lead the market in energy effi ciency and low sound levels. For instance, Diff usion’s new Modular Highline 235 fan coil range has eight models, 13 fan combinations and nearly 300,000 confi gurations to suit any application.
Change of use For commercial property owners modular fan coil design is particularly important to buildings undergoing a change of use and so a good option for AC contractors to suggest. Modular fan coil units can be reconfi gured on-site to align with a building’s new purpose resulting in substantial sustainability benefi ts. The modular design avoids the need to buy entirely new fan coil units and eliminates the need to discard existing ones, this approach signifi cantly minimises capital cost, on-site disruption and waste. Instead, the Diff usion modular design enables fan coils to be reused, reducing a building’s overall embodied energy. If a space transitions from open plan to an offi ce for example, the units can be easily reconfi gured to meet the required noise regulations by simply adding an attenuator to the modular design. Meanwhile, if architects are trying to achieve an industrial look, the units can be ceiling exposed, as well as ceiling concealed, off ering an attractive solution. The units can
10 June 2024 •
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