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Home > UNITED KINGDOM > Showroom
DELTASOLAR MAKES AIR CONDITIONING “RISE” FROM THE FLOOR
The starting point is a need: to better use a precious resource like water to warm interiors without having to raise water temperature to 70-80 degrees Celsius. Keeping the temperature down means saving energy and the environment. Italian company Deltasolar began its operations in 1983 with the objective to professionally manufacture alternative energy solutions for heating and air conditioning systems researched by founder Giuseppe Brucco during his cooperation with the Polytechnic Institute of Turin . A new generation of “radiating floors” was thus created to meet the need to modulate floor temperatures to avoid circulatory problems for anyone walking or standing on the heated floors.
“At first,” explained Architect Brucco, “our work was focused on cooperating with doctors and biologists. From this work, we concluded that the ideal temperature for floors heated by low-temperature water should be ten degrees lower than body temperature." Technically speaking, Deltasolar floors include 30-40 degree water flowing in polyethylene tubes. The materials used prevent decay of water lines, as the tubes are made to withstand temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. Actually, water never reaches such high levels: avoiding the use of additional power, the Deltasolar systems maintain a floor-level temperature of 24-27 degrees, gradually decreasing to approximately 20 degrees at man's height.
This type of flooring may be installed in any room: the efficiency of the material, improved over the years, has given the Italian company the opportunity to specialize in design and installation of custom-made radiating floors (similar systems are also available for walls and ceilings) featuring the unique capability to exploit low-temperature water to heat large areas. Even the presence of anomalous architectural elements, such as large windows, is not a problem. “Based on different values of conduciveness of surface covering materials, we are able,” explains Mr. Brucco, “to measure thermal dispersion of the tubes, thus guaranteeing uniform heating." There is also another quality to the Deltasolar systems: “What makes us different from our competitors is that the distance we leave between system tubes varies based on the specific needs of each situation.” “In a nutshell, we offer total flexibility,” says Brucco.
Innovative, flexible, and environmentally friendly characteristics (Deltasolar is also usable with geothermal energy through heat pumps) have generated global sales for Deltasolar, amounting to over 2,000 systems installed over 20 years. Some notable customers include Turin's Mole Antonelliana and the Egyptian museum of Turin, the Diana Gallery of the Royal Palace of Venaria, also located in the province of Turin. Deltasolar’s numbers are those of a SME - in 2007, the company invoiced a total of 2 million Euros, 90% of which was to Italian customers - but the company aims high, both in Italy and abroad. "Abroad,” adds Mr. Brucco, “we are operating a franchise business through our installers, whom we supply directly and who work exclusively on our projects.”
Among future projects coming up abroad, there are some programs with Arab countries, with which the company is negotiating possible future orders. It should come as no surprise that Deltasolar also sells in ‘warm’ countries. Radiating floors, in fact, can also cool rooms, not just heat them. “Pumping cold water into the tubes,” explains Brucco, “we can keep the floors temperature at one degree Celsius above the point of condensation. This way, anyone staying in a floor-release air-conditioned area experiences a feeling of wellness without the aggressive nature of traditional air-conditioning systems.” Keeping the floor at the proper temperature is a system of electronic switchboards, which controls electric valves that maintain surface temperature at the level needed to avoid condensation. “And if conditions change, for example if a large number of people enters the room increasing humidity by perspiration, the electronic systems will react by modifying the temperature of the water flowing in the flooring tubes,” concludes Brucco.
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