Calorex provides humidity control at Colchester Zoo

Ranked as the 11^th best zoo in the world, Colchester has a number of Koi Carp and Japanese Bitterling housed in a Japanese-influenced exhibit named Koi Niwa. Within the exhibit building there are two large pools and two filtration systems visible to visitors.

John Game, deputy estates manager at Colchester Zoo explains: “We were having problems with condensation within the Koi Niwa building which had led to the discolouration of the internal bamboo cladding. “Following technical guidance from Calorex, a wall-mounted DH 60AX dehumidifier unit was fitted to remove moisture from the atmosphere.

“The unit was good value for money and we were very happy with the service provided by Calorex.”

High levels of humidity if left unchallenged can be a major problem in an indoor moisture-laden environment, such as the Koi Niwa building. Water increases air humidity, and can eventually lead to mould and structural damage.

The installation in the Koi Niwa building follows the installation of another Calorex condensation dehumidifier in the Australian Rainbows exhibit also at the zoo, which houses a group of rainbow lorikeets. The wall-mounted DH 15AX model was required to control the humidity in the staff area which is adjacent to the moisture-laden plant room.

Calorex has an extensive range of dehumidifiers with units perfect, not only for aquatic buildings, but suitable for all types of storage and work environments. Our high-performance dehumidifiers recirculate the air and physically remove moisture from it. This alleviates the need to continuously reheat incoming air. Not only that, the units cleverly convert energy taken out of the room as moisture to create ‘sensible energy’ that can be used to heat the room, accelerating the drying process.

Typically, for every unit of energy that a Calorex dehumidifier consumes, it will convert 2.5 times this amount to usable heat. The potential energy savings are huge. In fact, compared to traditional heat and ventilation energy, cost savings of 500% are not unusual. The DH 60 commercial dehumidifiers are versatile wall-mounted units, with additional space heating options. The units are suitable for a number of applications including:

• Electrical sub-stations
• Libraries
• Basements and cellars
• Storage warehouses
• Drying rooms
• Art galleries