Carrier takes heating and cooling to new levels
15th February 2024
UK: Carrier AquaSnap 30RBP air-cooled scroll chillers operating on R32 refrigerant are providing cooling and heating for one of the world’s largest vertical farms.
The farm, operated by Jones Food Company in Lydney in the Forest of Dean, offers 148,000ft2 (13,750m2) of growing space for stacking crops 15 layers high, and is expected to supply 1,000 tonnes of fresh produce a year to UK supermarkets.
Contractor Brooktherm Refrigeration was tasked with providing an HVAC solution capable of delivering a constant supply of efficient heating and cooling to the pressurised warehouse.
One of the key challenges was the requirement to achieve four different temperature and humidity set points, so it was essential that the chillers specified were compatible with Brooktherm’s control system.
Carrier recommended its AquaSnap 30RBP air-cooled scroll chillers, which operate from -10ºC up to +48ºC, and come with Greenspeed intelligence variable-speed pumps.
The cultivation warehouse is served by two HVAC plants, one on the north side and one on the south side, each equipped with two Carrier chillers, delivering a total of 2.2MW of cooling and heating to the growing room.
“We already supply thousands of British retail stores with basil grown in our first facility in Lincolnshire, but our Lydney site is three times bigger and will allow us to supply a greater range to more stores,” said James Lloyd-Jones, Jones Food Company’s CEO.
The HVAC plant was fully commissioned last summer, and by October the entire growing area was fully planted, allowing the operator to harvest a tonne of basil and leafy greens every 19 days.
