Hive Group to deliver Hamley’s decarbonisation of Regent Street premises

Air source heat pumps and heat recovery systems are part of the Hamley’s decarbonisation strategy to update their 142 year old Regent Street store

Hive Group have been selected to deliver a new ventilation and sustainable heating system as part of Hamley’s decarbonisation scheme at the flagship Regent street store.

The listed premises, built in 1825 and occupied by Hamleys since 1881, see over five million customers annually. The store will remain open whilst decarbonisation works take place.

Implementing a sustainable heating, cooling and ventilation strategy

Working closely with Mica Projects, Hive Group will replace the building’s gas-fired boilers and air-cooled chillers to more sustainable air source heat pumps, as well as introduce a new central ventilation system.

Upgrading the system to support heat recovery will enable the reuse of waste heat and save significant amounts of energy across the building.

The team will also increase the building’s fresh air rates to provide a higher turnover of internal air, providing a better ventilated internal environment for employees and customers.

The works will be phased to allow the store to remain open

A significant challenge for the Hive team will be to carry out works on one of London’s busiest retail thoroughfares while the store remains open to the public.

The Group’s strategy will be to create an independent air conditioning system on each floor, allowing the phasing of activity across the building to ensure continuity of the store’s operations as well as providing the flexibility for future works.

Hamley’s decarbonisation must balance heritage features with modern energy efficiency standards

Andy Burbridge, Hive managing director, said: “Hamleys has made an important step in the decarbonisation of its famous, 19th century building and it is a pleasure to support our client in its preservation.

“It is the upgrade and optimisation of these behind-the-scenes services that will help deliver the UK’s drive towards carbon reduction, extend the life-span of our valued buildings and improve the environments for the people who use them. The wide-ranging positive impacts will benefit Hamleys’ employees, customers and the Regent Street building for many years to come.”

Keane Herman, Hamleys Regent Street, said: “Hive Group understood our requirements to manage the preservation of the building, considering the building’s listed heritage as well as its complex location and offered a solution that supported our sustainability ambitions as well as our commercial.”