The British Sailing team have chosen Panasonic’s custom made workshop container, kept continuously cool by two inverter controlled Panasonic air conditioning systems to help them with their bid for gold in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
The workshop, which has been specifically designed for the Beijing 2008 Olympics will provide the British sailing team with the best possible back up to see them through the challenging and possibly gruelling weather conditions and situations they may encounter.
The workshop will provide facilities for a wide variety of boat repairs and more than enough fresh, cold water for all the crew and the support team. The container is a modified ISO shipping container that has been redesigned to exactly meet the needs of the team. Its 35 foot main interior includes workbenches, power tools, storage for parts and materials, water purification air conditioning systems and two Panasonic CS-RE24GKEW wall mounted inverter units.
Pansonic won the contract with the help of leading air conditioning distributor Climate Center, who provided the piping and ancillary systems. The whole container was installed by AJP Online's Cool Systems;
Cool Systems Managing Director Steve Kelly says: “This was an unusual opportunity to install a high specification system in a very special situation, a challenge we gratefully accepted. The installation was made easier through the forethought and technical information provided. From an installer’s point of view, it was a straightforward job.”
Peter Bentley, Technical Projects Manager for Skandia Team GBR, the British sailing team in the Olympic and Paralympic classes, said of the contract:
“If you want the best from a team, you have to invest in facilities. For our support team that means all the tools and materials they need – and a cool, comfortable working environment. Without reliable air conditioning, the interiors of our workshop could reach 65oC in Beijing this summer, and that would be unbearable... We chose Panasonic because in addition to efficient running, its inverter controls give a soft start…Panasonic is a global brand, so if we ever need replacement parts for our systems, they will be easy to source.”
The outdoor section of the unit has an energy efficiency rating of 3.21 and weighs 67kg The indoor unit is A rated for energy saving in cooling mode and circulates up to 16.9m3/min at a sound level of 47dB(A) on the high setting or 38dB(A) on the low setting.
Paul Taylor, Panasonic European Technical Manager, Air Conditioning Products, says: “The British sailing team’s workshop container was a challenging specification, but it was well within the range of solutions that we can provide.” |