University of Salford - Air Conditioning (Energy House)

The University of Salford Energy House is a world first and was created to replicate weather conditions for testing to be undertaken in a controlled environment, regardless of the weather conditions outside.

It is a flagship, revenue generating, project for the University, which has attracted researchers from all over the world to carry out testing in its unique environment.

The brief was to create a climate controlled environment which could maintain temperate anywhere between -2ºC to +30ºC, with an accuracy of +/- 0.5ºC.

Our Managing Director, Richard Rodgers, took the lead with such a technical project, carrying out the survey and overseeing the various elements of the design, tendering the project himself and winning the confidence of the University’s project team in the process.

We were delighted to have been chosen to implement our design, which was carried out by our highly trained and experienced engineers with great professionalism and commitment over a period of months to ensure a successful completion.

Cooling & Heating Modifications

The first job was to decommission the existing cooling only condensing units and reconfigure the existing AHU coils. We then installed a none return valve and reconfigured the AHU pipework for maximum efficiency. We installed a 2No. dual discharge cold store AHU’s to 2No. existing condensing units. Finally, we installed the interconnecting pipework.

Ducting and AHU modifications

We started out by replacing the existing silencer and installing a larger model. In order to supply air outlets we installed 30 degree bends. We installed a baffle plate and removed the Reznor gas heater in order to make good the AHU.

Controls modifications

We installed new and improved air sensors and reconfigured those that were existing. In addition, we modified the control system of DX Units.