How often have you woken up after a night in an inner city hotel, with that 'stuffy' feeling that you have had an uncomfortable sleep, deprived of fresh air? It's not always possible or practicable to open windows as traffic and other noises are too intrusive. Hotel air conditioning cannot always solve the problem either - it may be too noisy anyway, but most older hotels did not make suitable provision for fresh air supply to guest rooms and this is where the cause of an uncomfortable night's sleep commonly stems. One prestigious London hotel group turned to Space Airconditioning plc the Daikin Air Conditioning Distributor to address this problem.
Set in exclusive Mayfair in the heart of London, the May Fair Hotel has been playing host to the rich and famous since its historic opening by His Majesty King George V in 1927. Refurbishing and extending the May Fair was technically a highly demanding undertaking, not least for Space Airconditioning plc, the Guildford-based Daikin Distributor who were nominated to supply the new Daikin air conditioning for the entire project.
At the very earliest stages of the design, it was established that there would be full air conditioning - heating, cooling and ventilation to all bedrooms, as well as all occupied staff areas, all affiliated premises including shops, cafes and the adjacent Casino - and to all lavatories.
From the outset, extra low noise levels were considered a priority to ensure the ambiance expected in a 5 star hotel environment. Energy efficiency was also vital, not only from an operational viewpoint but also because electrical power supplies are at a premium in this part of the West End.
Finally the air conditioning installations were required to be fully compliant with current regulation. A ninth floor was added to the front elevation of the hotel to create a penthouse suite - the second largest and one of the most luxurious and expensive in London.
To facilitate the fresh air ventilation requirements Space Air designed bespoke composite air handling units, combining large (FXMQ) Daikin Ducted fan coil units and Daikin's VAM heat recovery ventilation modules.
These roof-mounted, fully weatherproofed units were prefabricated at Space Air's Guildford factory. The units ensured that the mix of fresh air and return air did not exceed 1ºC over set-point and the Daikin I-Manager controls would hold off operation of the VAM section until the room set-point was reached and maintain the 7-8°k room/ambient differential.
The ceiling height in the luxurious penthouse suite was lower than originally designed due to a planning restriction on the overall height of the hotel; this required a more innovative solution. Daikin Chassis type VRV floor mounted fan coil units were concealed in an partition wall, separating the large lounge and dining areas from other facilities and the interior designer selected purpose made linear grilles to create a feature. The fresh air for this area was supplied by 2 roof mounted Daikin VKMG units, again with weatherproofing manufactured and factory fitted by Space Air.
The design concept ensuring optimum environment control including adequate fresh air to the guest rooms has proved to be a great success and the model has now been extended to other hotels within the group.
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