Paul detected what he thought to be the smell of gas in the basement and stairewell area, this turned out to be quite a serious ingress of mains gas. Not only did Paul take control of the Prospero aspect of the incident, but also managed the liaison with: the branch manager, property services, local gas service provider, local electricity services supplier, the emergency services, Group Security & G4s, Staff within the branch and also members of the public.
Thanks to his calming influence and fast thinking RBS have recognised his efforts by awarding him with the offshore customer service award.

Well done Paul!

Time to upgrade

In 2015, a total ban on the use of R-22 refrigerant will come into effect. The use of virgin R-22 has been banned in the European Union since 2010, which means that over time, supplies will become scarcer and more expensive, and longer downtimes can result when reclaimed R-22 is not available.
R-410A’s zero ozone depletion potential and improved efficiency combined with the inverter-based heat pump technology of Daikin’s VRVIII-Q solution result not only in increased energy efficiency and lower CO2 emissions but also in decreased operating costs.

Cost effective and easy

From the onset of the R-22 ban, Daikin presented the market with a cost-effective solution. Already with first generation VRVIII-Q systems, existing piping could be kept and in many cases also the indoor units. With the second generation, larger capacity outdoor units (up to 48 HP) with a reduced footprint (smaller than corresponding R-22 outdoor units) allow a one-to-one replacement of outdoor units. Hence, existing power supply connections can also be retained.
VRVIII-Q has been designed to operate at lower pressures suitable for existing R-22 piping while maintaining high energy efficiency. And thanks to an automatic charging and cleaning feature, new piping – required in the past for system upgrades due to oil and contaminants in existing piping – is no longer needed, even in the case of previous compressor breakdown. In many cases, only the outdoor units need to be replaced, which allows phased replacement, the spreading of investment costs and a minimal disruption to business.

VRVIII-Q is available in configurations of 5 to 48 HP in heat pump and 10 to 30 HP in heat recovery models. All existing Daikin R-22 and R-407C VRV® installations can be replaced. Moreover, many non-Daikin R-22 or R-407C installations can also be upgraded with Daikin’s Replacement VRV. In addition to possible efficiency gains of more than 40%, system capacity can be increased without changing the refrigerant piping, allowing adaptation of the system to increased cooling and heating demand.

For more information on Daikin Europe N.V.’s VRV solutions for new and existing constructions, visit www.daikin.eu

There was a high level of interest in Propsero’s Heat Pump and Solar Thermal products this year as the general awareness of heat pumps has increased dramatically over the last year due to rising energy costs and property development television programs. The Air Source Heat Pumps are very flexible both in size and application with Prospero able to offer a selection being suitable for either direct boiler replacement allowing traditional radiator systems to be kept or complete low temperature solutions. There is also a Solar Thermal solution suitable for each of the systems available.

The enquiries taken at the show ranged from apartments to townhouses, farms to office buildings. Since the show Prospero have carried out numerous surveys and supplied quotes and simulations. With the potential customers being given a budget cost beforehand these are all genuine enquiries. Prospero have already been able to offer these customer’s significant savings on their current systems and have orders to proceed with a number already this summer. Prospero have been installing these systems since their launch in 2007 and have a portfolio of sites and more importantly happy customers. With the introduction of the MEA’s ‘Heat Pump Tariff’ Prospero are now able to see customers making a saving of up to 50% on their annual heating costs without the use of solar thermal!’ If Solar Thermal where to be utilised in conjunction with the specified heat pump then the savings would be greater still.

Our demonstration suite includes N+1 redundant air conditioning and power including UPS and Generator back up, anti-static flooring and fire suppression. We have temperature and humidity monitoring, leak detection and remote access to racks utilising our high security web-based access system.

We have our own software developer who can build you a bespoke front end BMS system for all your M&E monitoring, power metering and alarm systems.

Improving customer service with vehicle tracking

Each vehicle is fitted with a live GPS tracking system which is monitored by our call centre who, in turn, monitor the workload of our staff and deploy the closest available engineer to your building.
Vehicle tracking’s ability to pinpoint driver and customer locations has revolutionised our operation. At the click of a button we can see exactly where our drivers need to be and give them precise directions there.
Furthermore, the technology has proved invaluable for general accountability; the vehicle tracking system records comprehensive data of all our journeys – from what time we arrived to how long we were on site. This has improved our customer service and efficiency whilst reducing our operating costs.

Looking after a portfolio of 14 buildings around the Island, Prospero are contracted to supply not only the statutory and maintenance aspects of Facilities Management, but to also provide a timely and agreed response to reactive maintenance calls. These unplanned call-outs enable our engineers to resolve issues that would otherwise prevent staff from undertaking their daily routines and tasks in a safe and satisfactory manner.

The contract runs for a period of 3 years and includes a ‘comprehensive’ element of maintenance, guaranteeing minor fixes are picked up and dealt with without further expense to the client. Other unique features of the contract include commitments to reduce the number of reactive calls placed, reducing the clients administrative burden, along with a year-on-year targeted reduction in energy consumption. Other initiatives include implementing the use of PDAs and other types of technology, reducing the amount of paper used throughout the maintenance process and the number of miles driven by engineers when responding to reactive works.