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Panasonic provides a natural experience

UK: Providing guests with a luxury 180º environmental experience in transparent plastic domes produced indoor environmental problems for a holiday resort in Northern Ireland.

The Bubble Domes at the Finn Lough Resort in Enniskillen, created in 2015, had problems with condensation and being cold in winter and too hot in the summer months.

“Our aim was to be able to offer holidaymakers a truly unique experience in this glorious setting, yet with minimal impact on these wonderful surroundings,” resort director Michael Beare. “We aimed to minimise the footprint of the domes, offering off grid power and heating solutions, minimal construction requirements and a design that blends into the landscape.”

Not surprisingly, the concept created a number of environmental problems. In order to understand and solve these issues, Michael Beare entered into discussions with Panasonic Ireland. With continuous prototyping and testing, the team has since adapted and improved the Dome’s comfort and experience for guests.

Each Dome is kitted out with Panasonic Aquarea fan coils which are connected to air-to-water Panasonic Aquarea Monobloc heat pumps for quick reaction heating and cooling as well as domestic hot water. Panasonic additionally supply DX ERV units to maintain a constant air flow rate. Each Dome is also monitored via the Panasonic Aquarea Smart Cloud technology to maintain the optimal environment for each guest.

The Domes are proving popular, with seven initially installed at the Finn Lough Resort in Northern Ireland which has recently increased to 14 Domes due to the high demand.

“I wanted to create a unique environmental experience where people can enjoy all the different elements of nature from a safe environment in a bubble of peace and tranquillity – I believe we have now achieved this,” said Michael Beare.

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