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R32 air conditioner is sound investment

UK: A Daikin Sky Air air conditioner using lower GWP refrigerant R32 is proving to be a sound investment for a hi-fi equipment retailer.

In a business where audio quality is the keyword, it is important to keep extraneous sound to a minimum. But with lots of bright lights and electronic equipment at work all day, it’s also essential to keep things cool.

The Daikin Sky Air R32 system integrating a Seasonal Smart Roundflow cassette indoor unit was selected to replace an ageing Daikin R22 split system at the Bang & Olufsen store in Bexleyheath, south east London.

“The old system had become quite noisy, so we had to switch it off every time we did an audio demonstration. That was not good for the customer experience, as without air conditioning, the temperature inside the shop could reach an unbearable 40°C in high summer,” explained B&O director Paul Blake.

The retailer has enjoyed a long association with Daikin. Founded in 1989, it moved to its current premises on Broadway in 1996. As part of the fit-out for the new store, a Daikin R22 split system – then state-of-the-art technology – was installed throughout. With the present EU total phase out of R22, Daikin’s new generation of Sky Air units made business sense for its HVAC refurbishment.

London based Daikin installer, Technicool Air Conditioning, took less than a day to remove the old components and fit the new 7kW system.

Describing it as “a straightforward installation”, Technicool’s Spencer Johnson said: “The replacement of refrigerant pipework was less than 10m between the indoor and outdoor units and the unit came pre-charged with refrigerant, which also saved time.”

As it was the first installation of its kind, a Daikin engineer was on site the following day to check the installation and formally commission the system.

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