The British Airways i360 in Brighton is the world’s tallest moving observation tower, its viewing pod rising 450 feet above the seafront to give panoramic views in all directions. At the base of the tower is the publicly accessible beach building that includes a restaurant, shop and flexible spaces for conferences, exhibitions, weddings and other social events. The flat roof of the building, level with Kings Road, serves as the pod boarding area. As a prominent year-round attraction, it needed high efficiency heat pumps to deliver comfortable indoor temperatures for visitors and staff in all seasons.
Vital role for Daikin VRV IV at high-flying new tourist attraction
The beach building has two Daikin VRV IV systems. A 20hp heat pump with continuous heating delivers 27.7kW of cooling or 36.0kW of heating to the restaurant and the retail area. Two heat recovery units totalling 34hp deliver 47.7kW of cooling and 61.3kW of heating to the events, exhibition and conference spaces, and the main office. These units are out of sight in the building’s central but because of the salt-laden sea air, all the units’ heat exchangers are treated with Blygold corrosion resistant coatings. Indoors, there are 26 slim ducted fan coil units and seven concealed ceiling units.
“We have a prominent year-round attraction, so we needed high effciency heat pumps to deliver comfortable indoor temperatures for visitors and staff in all seasons. These systems have the added benefits of heating with renewable energy.” – British Airways i360 spokesperson.
Maximising green energy standards
In addition the providing a comfortable indoor environment, the systems from Daikin UK are helping British Airways i360 to maximise green energy standards by heating efficiently with renewable energy. It also has a number of Daikin VAM ventilation units with a heat recovery facility that minimises additional demand on the air conditioning systems when there is a significant difference between outdoor and indoor temperatures. In a further efficiency boost, carbon dioxide sensors ensure the VAM units deliver only as much fresh air as necessary to maintain air quality standards.
