British sailing prospects in at least the next three Olympic Games will be enhanced with a state of the art mobile support facility, efficiently cooled by two inverter controlled Panasonic air conditioning systems – with redundancy to ensure comfortable working conditions at all times in hostile climates. Panasonic inverter systems were selected for the new 40 foot ‘workshop container’ also to minimise start-up loads on the facility’s standby generator if ground power is unavailable.

Built specially for Beijing 2008, the workshop container is designed to give the British sailing team the best possible backup, with facilities for a wide variety of boat repairs and ample supplies of fresh, cold water for crews and the support team. A modified ISO shipping container with doors at each end, the ‘tunnel’ container has been divided with a bulkhead. The smaller, five foot compartment includes a 10kVA generator and two Panasonic CU-RE24GKE compressor units. The 35 foot main compartment includes workbenches, power tools, storage for parts and materials, water purification and cooling systems and two Panasonic CS-RE24GKEW wall mounted inverter units.

The Panasonic project for the sailing team was supported by leading air conditioning distributor Climate Center, which provided the piping and ancillary items, and Cool Systems, of Brentwood, Essex, which installed the kit.

Climate Center Trading Director Dean Fradgley says: “As the UK’s largest supplier of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment, we had no hesitation in supporting this project, in partnership with a prominent manufacturer and one of our long-standing customers.”

Cool Systems Managing Director Steve Kelly says: “This was an unusual opportunity to install a high specification system in a very special situation, a challenge we gratefully accepted. The installation was made easier through the forethought and technical information provided. From an installer’s point of view, it was a straightforward job.”

Peter Bentley, Technical Projects Manager for Skandia Team GBR, the British sailing team in the Olympic and Paralympic classes, says: “If you want the best from a team, you have to invest in facilities. For our support team that means all the tools and materials they need – and a cool, comfortable working environment. Without reliable air conditioning, the interiors of our workshop could reach 65oC in Beijing this summer, and that would be unbearable. We have an extremely robust facility, not far short of military requirements and it will serve our national team until at least the 2016 Olympics. We chose Panasonic because in addition to efficient running, its inverter controls give a soft start. If ground power at some venues is inadequate, we would not be able to start a conventional air conditioning system without a much heavier and more powerful generator. Panasonic is a global brand, so if we ever need replacement parts for our systems, they will be easy to source.”

The outdoor units deliver 6.8kW cooling capacity, with an energy efficiency rating of 3.21. The units measure 795mm x 900mm x 320mm and weigh 67kg. The 6.8kW indoor units draw 9.7A at 230V and are A rated for energy saving in cooling mode. They circulate up to 16.9m3/min at a sound level of 47dB(A) on the high setting or 38dB(A) on the low setting. Dimensions of the units are 275mm x 908mm x 230mm.

Paul Taylor, Panasonic European Technical Manager, Air Conditioning Products, says: “The British sailing team’s workshop container was a challenging specification, but it was well within the range of solutions that we can provide.”

Panasonic is a worldwide brand of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, the world’s third largest electronics and electrical equipment company, with over 260,000 employees worldwide.