Toshiba Air Conditioning (a division of Toshiba Carrier UK Limited) has delivered a ground-breaking total refrigerant leak detection and containment system for Accor Group’s new Ibis Hotel in Brighton.
The system provides complete protection against both gradual and major leaks, automatically isolating and pumping down the refrigerant circuit in the event of a sudden loss of gas. It also triggers audible and visual alarms in the bedroom affected and centrally via the supervisory control system.
The Accor Group, which owns Ibis, challenged Toshiba to provide an outstandingly energy efficient system to deliver heating and cooling to bedrooms, while achieving BREEAM credits and full compliance with BSEN378 in relation to potential refrigerant leakage.
Importantly, the alarm capability had to be achieved without the use of refrigerant concentration detectors within bedrooms.
This was made possible with the use of Toshiba’s RBC-RD6 total refrigerant containment system, plus the joint development with Accor Group of a room indication (RBC-RI1) panel located within each bedroom to enable an audiable and visual alarm to be raised in the event of a refrigerant leak without the need to use a concentration sensor, which responds to both gradual and major refrigerant loss to provide full protection for guests and staff.
In the Ibis system, in the unlikely event of a major refrigerant leak, the controller initiates an alarm in the bedroom in which the leak occurs and indicates its exact location centrally via a room indicator panel. In addition to ensuring BSEN378 compliance, the solution confers a full BREEAM credit for the building.
The system also helps the hotel’s maintenance staff meet the requirements of the F-Gas Regulation, enabling them to identify potential system leaks at an early stage, therefore reducing the amount of R410A leaked to the atmosphere and ensuring the system continues to operate at peak efficiency.
Didier Louis, operations director of Accor Hotels, said: “Toshiba Air Conditioning has provided Accor UK and Ireland Hotel Group with a professional and efficient VRF solution to meet customer comfort requirements, while complying with the latest regulations. The system is highly energy efficient and contributes to Accor Group’s reduction in CO2 emissions via its environment program, Planet 21.”
Dave Dunn, general manager of Toshiba Air Conditioning, said: “We believe Accor Group’s approach could become a model for good practice in hotels and other multi-roomed buildings in the future. It provides a combination of best-in-class energy efficiency plus full compliance and reassurance in relation to potential refrigerant leakage.
He added: “The solution delivers optimum comfort for guests, low running costs and reduced emissions for the client, and guaranteed protection against refrigerant loss. It has all the bases covered.”
