Lingfirld Point

PANASONIC DIALS UP THE ENERGY SAVINGS IN CAPITA CALL CENTRE

When Capita, the business process management and outsourcing giant, decided to establish their new call centre in the Lingfield Point business park, it was important sustainability play a key role in the refurbishment. This included the heating and cooling system, for which M&E consultants Quinnross specified an energy efficient Panasonic system with advanced control technology.

Lingfield Point was originally constructed in 1946 as a wool production facility and now serves as a centre of business and innovation in the North West, with over 30 companies and organisations based there. Capita opted to convert one of the original large warehouses to a modern, high-tech call centre accommodating 500 staff. Quinnross had already installed a GHP system in another project at Lingfield Point with great success, winning a number of regional and national awards, so when it came to designing a heating and cooling system for the Capita call centre the choice was easy. Working with distributor ESS, Quinnross specified the Panasonic ECO G 3 way system, which would take advantage of the abundant gas supply on the site, and is renowned for its energy efficiency and ease of installation.

“We completed a fantastic project with the Panasonic GHP system a few years ago and, with Capita’s focus on sustainability, we thought this was a great opportunity to use the technology again,” says Derek Quinlan of Quinnross. “Panasonic’s ECO G gas heat pump really ticks all the boxes for us, it’s easy to install, very powerful and is also really efficient.”

Panasonic’s ECO G 3 way system uses gas, instead of electricity, to provide the power to draw in air and generate heat. This greatly decreased the load on the electricity supply at the Capita site, allowing it to be used for other essential systems that had to be installed to make the call centre a modern, technologically advanced facility. The ECO G 3 way can also be powered using LPG, meaning that if there were ever an interruption to the main gas supply, the units could still function. The demand for electricity for heating and cooling is reduced further by the ECO G 3 way’s use of a DC motor, which lowers the power consumption of the unit.

Capita is planning for 500 staff in their call centre so they required a system that could accommodate several different requirements at the same time, and also cope with a high level of demand for heating and cooling. Quinnross therefore specified 11 of the Panasonic ECO G 3 way units, which can provide heating and cooling simultaneously, to be installed to ensure the required system capacity and to connect to as many indoor units as possible. By installing over 150 indoor units in meeting rooms and open-plan areas Quinnross enabled accurate local heating and cooling, because groups of the units can be controlled individually, which creates a more comfortable environment for employees by adapting the system to their requirements.

Quinnross specified a comprehensive control system to increase the efficiency of the heating and cooling system. 11 wired timer remote controllers were installed to regulate operations of the ECO G 3 way units, and control air flow direction, temperature and fan speed. Panasonic’s intelligent touch screen controller, the CZ-256ESMC2, was also installed to interface with the site’s BMS. It combines the functionality to programme a schedule of operations, control factors such as fan speed, temperature and operation with the ability to control 256 units, which was absolutely vital in a project of this scale. The CZ-256ESMC2 also allows different levels of prohibition so employees can be given permission to change certain settings, such as temperature, but not others, like operation mode, preventing the system from being tampered with resulting in inefficient operation.

With the Panasonic ECO G 3 Way system installed, Capita have ensured a low energy heating, cooling and solution that reduces demand on the electricity supply and provides a comfortable, well-controlled environment for their employees.