The New Inn Pub in Warwickshire, a community-owned pub dating back to 1750, needed a new approach to heating and cooling to create a welcoming and pleasant environment for its customers. Panasonic Etherea air conditioning units with nanoe™ X were recommended as the ideal solution by installer Oli Thorndale of Thorndale Heating & Cooling.
The residents of the small village in Norton Lindsey, Warwickshire, purchased the pub in 2016, to maintain its key role as the social hub of the village. The villagers clubbed together to raise the £400,000 needed to purchase the property and now 220 shareholders and a steering committee manage the New Inn Pub.
When the villagers took over the property, it was very run down and needed a complete renovation throughout, including the heating system which was an old LPG gas-fired boiler. With the price of gas going up and its less-than environmentally friendly credentials, gas was considered an expensive and inefficient fuel – in fact, many locals complained the pub was cold in winter and too hot in the summer.
As this was 2021 and during the pandemic, COVID was very much at the forefront of everyone’s minds. With many villagers feeling vulnerable, the steering committee wanted to provide confidence in the pub, as well as creating a safer and healthier environment. It was at this point that the steering committee learnt about the benefits of Panasonic’s unique nanoe™ X; a unique technology to improve air hygiene by preventing transmission of airborne pathogens.
Through his relationship with air conditioning distributor, Oceanair, village resident Oli Thorndale of Thorndale Heating & Cooling, had already installed Panasonic nanoe™ X Etherea units in his property and was very pleased with the unit’s performance. Oli proposed a similar solution to the steering committee for the pub, which was quickly approved. Installation of wall-mounted Etherea air conditioner with nanoe™ X built-in as standard now provides not only energy-efficient heating and cooling but can also inhibit the growth of certain bacteria and viruses. Tony Bourne, a member of the steering committee remarked, “It was nanoe™ X and the benefits it brings that was the clinching factor to install Panasonic”.
Tony also said:
“I had already had the Panasonic nanoe™ X units installed in my own home, as our bedroom was very hot in the summer along with my wife suffering from chest problems and hayfever, we have since found that the Panasonic air conditioning unit with nanoe™ X technology has really helped and we both sleep much better now.
“The Pub is a major hub for the local community, so very important to ensure that it’s accessible and a pleasant place for everyone. The space is now much cosier and warmer with the new Panasonic units making a significant difference. We have also seen an increase in more of the local residents coming back to the pub, as they feel much more confident now that the nanoe™ X technology is installed.”
Oli Thorndale has been involved in the industry for approx. 15 years, starting out in air cleaning and filtration using electronic statics, which is why Oli quickly understood the benefits of nanoe™ X. Oli has since worked for an air conditioning company installing and maintaining the equipment and then started his own business three years ago – mainly domestic installs with lots of home office cabin style installs in and around Warwickshire – ideal for the Panasonic Etherea energy-efficient units with nanoe™ X technology.
Oli commented:
“With the price of gas going up considerably, I am seeing more and more people looking to switch to more renewable sources. It was Tony Holland of Oceanair that first came to me with the information on the Panasonic nanoe™ X technology and the independent tests regarding the benefits of the technology to inhibit bacteria and viruses such as COVID19. The units have been installed for approx. six months in the pub now – we have had a great reaction, with bills being reduced and the units quickly heating up the space. Following the pub install, local residents have been impressed and are requesting the units to be installed in their homes – the install of the units is very straightforward and made from good quality materials and comes ready to run.
“The support and help from both Panasonic and Oceanair has been very good with lots of back-up and information provided to help give people confidence, particularly since the latest independent test results re nanoe™ X inhibiting the COVID virus were recently published and confirming that is 99.8% effective against the adhered novel coronavirus Delta variant (SARS-CoV-2).
“I was particularly impressed with Oceanair as a distributor that helps the smaller installer and provides back-up for small projects – it was them that told me about nanoe™ X, because of my background in electrostatics and how they work I completely understood the technology.”
Tony Holland of Oceanair, also working in the industry for 15 years added:
“Having worked with Panasonic for at least 10 years now, it is always a pleasure to work with the team. I have found their products to have come on leaps and bounds, now currently leading the industry by far, especially with nanoe™ X and their Air Source heat pump technology, renewables are the future for this industry. We are seeing a phenomenal take up for these units both in domestic and commercial projects – people want to come back to safe and healthy environments – it’s selling itself, particularly with the latest test results revealing such high results against the virus. At Oceanair we are more than happy to work with smaller projects and installers – we treat all projects and customers with the same full customer support.”
“At Oceanair we are more than happy to work with small installs as well as the larger projects, offering the same respect to the one-man band as we would to the more established engineers, whether the specification is one system or one hundred systems – we treat all projects and customers with the same excellent customer support and professionalism.”
Panasonic has been developing nanoe™ since 2003. The technology is a cost-effective way to improve air hygiene by preventing the transmission of airborne pathogens. The nanoe™ X generator collects invisible moisture in the air and applies a high voltage to generate hydroxyl radicals in water. Hydroxyl radicals, abundant in nature, inhibit the growth of certain viruses, bacteria and allergens. Contained in tiny water particles, nanoe™ X generates particles that have a long lifespan and can spread over long distances.
The Panasonic air conditioning systems that incorporate the nanoe™ X technology can help bring incredible benefits indoors so that hard surfaces, soft furnishings, and the indoor environment can be a cleaner and more pleasant place to be. nanoe™ X works independently from the heating and cooling operation of its units and uses minimal energy and requires no maintenance.
For more information on the Panasonic range of heating and cooling solutions, including nanoe™ X technology and the latest independent test results, please visit www.aircon.panasonic.eu/GB_en