St Michael’s Hospital is part of the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, providing maternity and other services to the Bristol area.
Used to store food for patients, the original 54.6m3 ground floor freezer room is built into the fabric of the building, and Batchelor was tasked with the design, supply and installation of an upgrade to the outdated and dilapidated cooling equipment. The project also involved the replacement of the damaged freezer door and access ramp.
The previous system operated on R134a refrigerant and the updated solution is based around two 4.1kW capacity CUBO2 Smart transcritical condensing units, manufactured by SCM Frigo and supplied by wholesaler DW. The units are installed in the ground floor plant area with a 50m pipe run to the freezer room evaporators.
High-efficiency sustainable cooling
Operating on natural refrigerant CO₂, which has a global warming potential (GWP) of 1, the system is delivering highly efficient cooling while supporting the hospital’s commitment to reducing its environmental impact.
Equipped with a BLDC variable speed compressor, the CUBO2 Smart solution is highly efficient, even at part load, without any compromise when it comes to keeping food fresh.
With a design temperature of -18°C for the freezer room, the system uses standard local controls with the addition of a custom-build duty rotation / run / standby panel, so that if one system fails the other comes online.
Further features include the ability to schedule shared operating hours between the two units, thus helping to extend the life of the system by avoiding excessive wear to one condenser. In addition, alerts are sent to the hospital’s main building management system (BMS) in the event of a fault.
Batchelor Air Conditioning & Refrigeration General Manager Mark Richardson said:
“The previous system had reached the end of its useful life and we chose the CUBO2 Smart units because they provide a winning combination of sustainability and performance. “The customer is enjoying the benefits of much-improved cooling to the freezer room and, because CO₂ is ultra-low GWP, there is no uncertainty about needing to change refrigerants in the future.’’
Where we fit in
We have extensive experience of delivering solutions for the healthcare sector, and you can read more about a recent project at another hospital in Bristol here.
You can also discover more about reducing carbon footprint in our blog here.
Let us help find the right solution for your healthcare facility. Use the contact form, call 01234 712 901 or email info@batchelor.co.uk.
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