The BACKGROUND
An upscale four-star hotel in Liverpool city centre put out a tender for the supply of a refrigerant leak detection solution. Gas leak detection is used to continuously monitor for refrigerants in air conditioning systems in hotels, offices, apartments and buildings. These buildings have a duty of care to ensure that air conditioning systems are safe, and are compliant with regulations such as F-Gas and EN378.
The CHALLENGE
Should there be a leak in the air conditioning system and refrigerant gases escape, depending on the potential size of the leak, a leak detection system either alerts the building management system (BMS) or alerts people within the vicinity via a local alarm or beacon. It is more common in hotels for a signal to be sent to the BMS.
Widely known across the UK for refrigerant leak detection system expertise, a1-cbiss was personally requested to tender for the project.
The a1-cbiss Gas Detection Technical Sales Engineer commented “we soon got onto the project and arranged a site visit to see the scale of the project and to get a better idea of how the installation would work. Carrying out a site survey enables a discussion to take place with the site manager for any questions or suggestions they have and identify things that may not have been included in the site drawings. The site survey is a really important stage of the project because it gives us an opportunity to have an open conversation about the best way to tackle any issues on site and almost concludes the strategic direction of the project”.
The Gas Detection Technical Sales Engineer continued to say,
“Once we arrived at the site of the hotel we were quick to realise that we had a solution that could be installed right away, utilising the existing communications network in place and keeping installation costs to a minimum”.
The SOLUTION
Following the site survey, a1-cbiss decided on the most practical solution in terms of costs and installation. As the hotel is a Grade II-listed building, a1-cbiss knew the importance of choosing a gas sensor that would be non-invasive in its installation. Gas detection was required in each of the 87 bedrooms near to each air conditioning unit.
Once the sales quotation was proposed, the hotel awarded the project to a1-cbiss because of their gas detection product knowledge, their attention to detail and provided the hotel with the confidence that they could deliver the project in a timely and professional manner.
a1-cbiss supplied Oldham OLCT 10 fixed gas detection sensors to monitor the refrigerant gas R410a in the air conditioning system. On alarm, the OLCT 10 will send an indication via an analogue / Ethernet hub to the site control office. Oldham OLCT 10 gas sensors were chosen because of their ease of installation and proven reliability in past similar projects.
The CONCLUSION
Although a1-cbiss have an engineering team which provide system integration, and installation & commissioning, the hotel did not require these services as part of the project. a1-cbiss were more than happy to offer advice on final sensor positioning, guidance for compliance with regulations and ongoing servicing requirements.
a1-cbiss recommended that the gas sensors be positioned at floor level due to the weight of refrigerant gases in air. Because of the cosmetics of the gas sensor, the hotel wanted to hide the sensor out of sight. The sight of a gas sensor within a room may also cause unease because of it’s an unknown entity so if it can be positioned out of sight, that is the preferred option. Installing the sensors in the ceiling void was also considered. The EN378 Regulations accept that sensors can be positioned in the ceiling void if it’s not an airtight ceiling.
To find out more about the Refrigerant Leak Detection range that a1-cbiss can offer, contact us below.
