GET-IM Install New MVHR at Elephant Enclosure
The GET-IM team has successfully installed new mechanical ventilation with a heat recovery system at the elephant enclosure within West Midlands Safari Park.
The impressive 1,300 metres squared elephant enclosure incorporates cow and bull sandpits, hard standing with a rubberised floor, a hydraulic crush wall with an integrated weighing scale and a service corridor to allow zookeepers to safely monitor and manage the remarkable giant’s health and wellbeing.
Naturally, the average elephant can reach a height of up to 4 metres, so any ventilation ducting needed to be installed at a suitable height to keep them out of reach of inquisitive trunks. With the enclosure achieving a total height of 10 metres at the apex, there was sufficient room above the enclosure walls to suspend over 100 metres of 400mm diameter ventilation ducting.
The ducting was utilised across 3 ducting run systems which were located centrally above specified zones for the elephants, but also to achieve maximum efficiency and sufficient distribution and collection of air across the building.
Integrally connected to the ducting was 3x Lossnay mechanical ventilation heat recovery systems which are designed to supply fresh air into the building whilst simultaneously extracting stale air and, most importantly, recovering valuable heat energy for maximum efficiency.
Heat recovery units work by taking extracted moisture-laden air through a central heat exchanger and then the heat energy is recovered into the fresh supplied air, resulting in a comfortable and condensation free environment all year round. This works both ways, if the air temperature inside the building is colder than the outside air temperature then the coolth is maintained within the building.
Combined the 3 units can deliver anywhere from 522 litres of air per second up to a maximum of 2,082 litres of air per second. This equates to a maximum of 7500m3 of air replaced every hour.
With the new ventilation system in place, the safari park’s elephants are now enjoying an environment with a more consistent ambient air temperature and level of humidity to which they are naturally more accustomed.