A manufacturer’s journey to lower bills and increase sustainability was driven by three key factors: knowing they were wasting money, deciding to do something to reduce that waste, and receiving a grant from the Low Carbon Workspaces programme to help install solutions.
Thermatek manufactures products for the cold store industry, innovating in ‘frost heave’ and condensation protection for over 20 years from their Hungerford base. While preventing negative effects of frost and ice is their line of business, the Thermatek team were all-too familiar with frosty conditions around their office and warehouse.
“The offices and warehouse were heated by totally inadequate and inefficient wall-mounted heaters which needed to be on day and night,” confirmed Managing Director Derek Lawrence. “We all froze in the winter and knew that we were wasting money on heating and lighting. It was up to the business to fund the necessary improvements and we had already started to install LED lighting. Then I saw the Low Carbon Workspaces website and applied for a grant.”
“The financial assistance allowed us to proceed with our plans. We have now completed the installation of the LED lighting and installed efficient heating. I am very grateful to the team at Low Carbon Workspaces who helped us make this happen.”
A £2,000+ grant helped Thermatek upgrade lighting fixtures to LEDs and install infrared heating at their premises. The team will no longer have to worry about wasting money on bills, with savings of £700 a year thanks to 4,850kWh less energy being used onsite, leading to an emissions reduction of 1.13 tonnes CO2e. “We have been fortunate to be very busy over the last year,” says Derek. “There has been a big demand for commercial refrigeration, and we supply the special protective heating systems to ensure their safety.”
What is frost heave? When a cold store is installed at ground level, moisture in the ground below can freeze and push against the floor above, creating an uneven and unsafe floor on which the cold store is situated, leading to a potentially unusable cold store. Thermatek’s products provide the heating solutions which prevent frost heave and its related damage. The products are also optimised to achieve minimum environmental impact and maximum cost savings.
Given their area of expertise, it must have been even more frustrating for the team to be burdened with a cold office and high bills. “The Low Carbon Workspaces grant came at the perfect time for us,” a delighted Derek explained. “For the first time in a long time, we are all warm at work and not freezing. Marvellous! Thank you Low Carbon Workspaces for the grant.”
