GatorSkin technology – the future of ductwork systems

GatorDuct is an entirely recyclable technology having less weight, cheap cost, reduced emission levels which is beneficial for the environment.

GatorDuct is printable, so ductwork can be matched to any colour scheme, company colours, or patterns. GatorDuct was the perfect solution as it is made from a renewable source and is 100 per cent recyclable and has turned something functional into a real design statement.

Despite many advancements in architecture and building technology, ductwork systems haven’t changed in over a hundred years. GatorDuct® is transforming the ductwork industry across the world. GatorDuct is made from Tri-Wall, a material so strong and durable it’s used to safely transport heavy and hazardous goods throughout the world. Our HVAC engineers combine Tri-Wall with a unique and multi-layered protective coating called GatorSkin. GatorDuct is delivered flat pack for efficient transportation; when compared to the volume of traditional steel duct, it requires just 12 per cent of the space. Less weight, less cost, lower emissions, and better for the planet. Innovative, sustainable and cost effective, GatorDuct is the future of ductwork systems.

These duct systems are manufactured from a 100 percent sustainable source where two trees are planted for each tree whish is being brought down. GatorDuct can be flat packed for efficient transportation, when compared to the volume of traditional steel duct saving approximately 88 percent of space. This technology basically means having less weight, cheap cost, reduced emission levels which is beneficial for the environment.

Recently produced and installed ductwork with a jungle theme for a children’s play area and believe there are huge benefits for the building industry to benefit from our revolutionary technology in terms of the environment and to enhance the aesthetics of their designs.

The installation of new air conditioning system into a Buckinghamshire hotel is demonstrating how the clever use of design and specification can remove the need for leak detection equipment in occupied spaces.

AG Barr demonstrated their corporate social responsibility in selecting Cosaf to create one of the world’s most sustainable cooling systems on the planet today, which uses low energy evaporative cooling technology in conjunction with the world’s only sustainable ductwork system GatorDuct.

To be more specific, GatorDuct can be completely recycled entirely; moreover, it contains 21.5 percent of recycled content. It’s light weight minimises the manpower requirement whilst reducing risk of potential hazards.

The Crowne Plaza, Gerrards Cross is a 147-bedroomed hotel and conference centre which has undergone a complete refurbishment having been bought by the Cairn Hotel Group.

Specialist air conditioning contractors, Turn Key Air Conditioning Ltd has installed Mitsubishi Electric City Multi heat recovery system into the hotel, to offer guests the ultimate in modern complete comfort and style. Current legislation restricts the use of refrigerants in buildings, with EN378 in particular intended to minimise possible hazards to persons, property and the environment from refrigerating systems and refrigerants.

Under EN378 legislation, which is particularly applicable for hotels, leak detection equipment must normally be provided if, in the case of R410a, a concentration of 0.44 kg/m3 refrigerant could be exceeded, if all of the refrigerant from a system were to leak into a single room.

Turn Key has developed an ongoing relationship with ‘The Cairn Group’ since providing maintenance service and advice on the Newcastle International Hotel. Swirles and his team have extensive hotel experience and this gave the Cairn Group the confidence to bring Turn Key in at an early part of the design process.

“We worked closely with Cairn Group from day one to design a system that meets all requirements in terms of guest comfort, energy efficiency and legislation,” added Swirles.

In close association with Mitsubishi Electricvalue-added reseller (VAR) PACAIR, Turn Key designed the system with the minimum amount of refrigerant in each bedroom to comply with EN378.

PACAIR also helped ensure that the equipment design was modular to allow the hotel to continue trading during the refurbishment and minimise the disruption to both the business and its guests. This is where the unique two-pipe, heat recovery City Multi system comes into its own as it provides much more flexibility of design and installation. “Each room is fairly unique so we also had to ensure that the design was flexible enough to cope with the different sizes and layouts,” said PACAIR Managing Director, Nigel Palmer. PACAIR also used its specialist knowledge of the complete Mitsubishi Electric range to advise on the installation of a Melcotel hotel control system which links each individual room to the Ving cards, so that systems will not operate when unoccupied.

The hotel has been refurbished to the highest standards, and the entire project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2015. Turn Key has also fitted the infrastructure to the ground floor and designed the installation process to allow it to be completed in five distinct phases to minimise disruption.

Panasonic is committed to providing flexible air conditioning and heating solutions to accommodate the various demands of hotels, whatever the size. Hotels must deal with the conflicting demands of their customers, simultaneously, ensuring there is domestic hot water ready for when the guests want it, and comfortable temperatures in every room. By nature, hotels must offer their guests highperformance air conditioning and heating systems.

With one of the widest range of solutions for heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water production by gas or electricity, Panasonic offer a complete multi-energy solution.

The possibility of choosing between electricity and gas, enables a significant reduction in CO2 emissions as well energy costs.

Panasonic understands how important it is to minimise disruption in hotels when renovating or refurbishing the building, which is why its solutions allow equipment to be replaced in stages, by substituting the various elements without interfering with the normal activities of the hotel. The systems also guarantee minimal noise emissions when active, ensuring optimum comfort levels.

In addition to ducted fancoil units in the rooms, City Multi ceiling cassettes are being installed in all public areas, whilst Lossnay mechanical ventilations with heat recovery is being used to energy-efficiently maximise the amount of fresh air within the building.

“When we were asked to help with this project, we saw it as ideal opportunity to design out the need for leak detection,” explained Swirles. “We are now looking at how we implement this in other situations with The Cairn Group.”

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