Welcome to the British Institute

Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and The Law...

CREATE THE BEST ENVIRONMENT YOU CAN AND REDUCE YOUR RUNNING COSTS, INCREASE THE COMFORT FOR MEMBERS AND STAFF WHILST ATTRACTING NEW MEMBERS.

Air Conditioning is much more than just cooling; it’s an extremely cost effective way to heat your club and save money!!

18 years in the Club industry business has made Envtec the market leader in the design, installation and service of Air conditioning. Approved by the Association of Conservative Clubs, English Indoor Bowling Clubs as well as a long term and supplier to the C.I.U as well as being approved by Route, the industries recognised buying agency. The list is ever increasing and will see the addition of at least two more major recognised associations over the next year.

Our free advice service includes personal visits, but also we attend seminars all over the UK for all of our business partners (organisations above) where we are available to answer questions and give advice on best practice.

Choosing the correct equipment

Choosing the correct equipment is vital to any successful installation. It must be remembered that the primary market for the sale of Air Conditioning is Offices and Shops, not Social Clubs. Selecting air conditioning for a Club is completely different to designing a system under normal conditions. Where else do you get rooms that cater for 5 to 500 people, many of whom sit in the same seat week after week, and who have a right to complain if their comfort is disrupted. Where else are rooms empty at 6.30 then full to capacity by 9.00. The room needs to be warm to receive members but the temperature needs to be controlled as the room gets busy. Many Clubs also have a dance floor which needs to be kept cool, but at the same time members sitting in the same room need to sit in a comfortable temperature.

The Smoke may have gone ........ but what is left behind ???

The smoking ban comes into force on July 2nd so you no longer have to worry about the effects of smoke, but what about what is left behind.

Take any indoor space with limited ventilation other than windows, fill it with people, make it nice and warm and you have a breeding ground for viruses, bacteria, odour and of course allergens. Fortunately over the years many Clubs have used smoke filters which have helped to remove some of these pollutants but as their prime purpose was removal of smoke their efficiency was limited. As smoke is no longer an issue we can now fit new or use existing equipment, upgrade the internal filters and provide your Club with clean air at an incredibly low cost .

Cellar Cooling and the Law

Keeping the cellar at the right temperature is vital if the quality of beer is to be maintained.

An obvious statement maybe, but so many Clubs are still running with old cellar coolers that do not achieve the right temperature, and cost a fortune to run.

Installing the right cellar cooler is not only vital to the member but the committee now need to seriously consider the change in law coming on the 4th July 07. The changes are part of a raft of measures which aim to tackle the issues of climate change. It is designed to minimise emissions of gasses from equipment containing refrigerant, which affects global warming if the gas escapes into the air.

The European Union’s F-gas Regulations covers HFC’s, which are the most common refrigerant gasses in use today. The legislation includes refrigerant gasses such as R13a, F407C and R410A. As cellar coolers are undoubtedly hard wired (not small enough just to plug in) they will become subject to the new regulations, and as such the user is totally responsible for maintaining and taking reasonable precautions to prevent any emissions.

Running Costs

When selecting the right equipment be sure to take advice on the efficiency of the equipment. Normally the better the quality the more efficient the performance in terms of electricity use. You will hear terms like inverter driven, Band A, Band B etc. You will need professional advice on what is best for you but in the main inverter or super inverter products are more efficient and softer on your electrical supply so look out for products with these features. Also check out the products on the Government’s Carbon Trust website, low carbon emissions tends to mean high efficiency so it is well worth a look.

The bottom line – getting the right advice about equipment selection is probably one of the most important aspects of choosing your air conditioning, get it wrong and there will be a price to pay. Get it right and the benefits are there for all to see.

Regulations are unfortunately not as easy to identify in the air conditioning industry as say for example, if you were fitting a boiler at home. We all know Corgi registration as a standard. A/C guidelines are less clear at the moment though hopefully this will change in the near future. Look out for certification such as Safe Gas Handling and ask to see the certification of the engineers who will be attending your Club. Make sure they are recognised by official bodies such as the Construction Industry Training Board. The safest starting point is to get a written guarantee that the installation will be carried out by engineers who are directly employed by the company who you place your order with, don’t accept sub contract labour.

Finally, from July 4th this year if you have air conditioning it will be a legal requirement to have it regularly serviced. We recommend twice per year to carry out leak checks to a specific schedule. The schedule will be established by the European Commission later this year. Make sure that only certified companies carry out leakage checks and that you have access to records of the work carried out and the type of refrigerants used.