The port of Southampton has become a global leader in energy efficiency with the opening of the city’s brand new £19m, Ocean Terminal.
Set to be officially inaugurated later this month the building has been engineered to provide one of the most energy saving facilities of its kind.
The energy savings measures within the distinctively shaped Ocean Terminal, in the city’s Eastern Docks, should reduce the primary, thermal energy consumption and associated CO2 production by 90 per cent compared to a conventional design.
Among the environmental services are a series of complex heat pumps and exchangers which provide warmth and cooling for the building while ventilation equipment also enables temperatures to be maintained at 50 per cent capacity in the event of failure of one of any major plant machinery.
Fresh air is filtered, tempered and cooled by a number of air handling units which feature a full recirculation facility, fans and a heat exchanger.
Sophisticated controls make sure only the minimum airflow is treated at all times and waste energy from the air handling units is discharged as heat into the terminal’s baggage hall.
The building’s designers opted for gas as the main energy source for the bulk of the heating and cooling for the new terminal.
Related stories
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here