The Situation.
The owners of Poke & Yoh wanted to open an Island Café in the Regent Arcade Shopping Mall in Cheltenham, UK. The Hawaiian themed food bar was designed to create a sunny Polynesian atmosphere. A form of heating was required to encourage the customers to linger to savour the exotic Hawaiian-inspired food and drink and enjoy the hospitality for which Poke & Yoh are renowned.
The Challenge.
The kiosk was located within a much larger space; being an open-sided booth it needed a heating solution that would effectively focus the heat on the customers rather than warming the air which would quickly disperse into the larger/cooler area of the mall. Having a form of heating which would help create the required atmosphere was fundamental to delivering the desired customer experience.
Conscious of the need to keep overheads to a minimum, the owners were also looking for a heating system which was energy efficient to run and required no ongoing maintenance.
The Solution.
Infrared heating panels, which work on the same principle as the sun warming the earth, provided the ideal solution. This form of energy-efficient heating directly warms the customers giving a superior level of thermal comfort compared to convection-based heating systems.
The use of ceiling-mounted infrared heating removed the risk of the panels being damaged and ensured that a maximum amount of space was available for customer seating. With no moving parts the infrared panels are completely silent, maintenance free and have no requirement for regular servicing.
The Solution in Detail.
The Island Café heating comprised of five ceiling mounted LAVA Basic DM 500W infrared panels positioned over the customer seating areas. The infrared waves spread out from the front of each panel in the shape of a 30° cone, overlap with the infrared cone from the adjacent panel giving an even distribution of heat over the entire seating area of the stall.
Due to the café’s open-sided structure, it was not appropriate to regulate the infrared panels with a thermostatic control. In this scenario a simple on/off switch was used to control the LAVA panels.
The rear of the ETHERMA infrared panels is heavily insulated to ensure the maximum amount of the infrared is directed from the front of the panel into the room. This makes LAVA infrared panels one of the most energy-efficient products on the market.
With a total heating load of just 2.5 kW the running cost of the Poke & Yoh Island Café heating is only 30p/hour.
Product Benefits
LAVA® BASIC-DM
- Very high proportion of radiation
- Large infrared emitting surface
- Lightweight design for easy ceiling mounting
- Pleasant room climate thanks to comfortable infrared radiant heat
- Magnetic field & maintenance free
