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Ruskin
Air Management
Posh Hotels
Deserve Posh
Grilles
How often have you noticed the
rather utilitarian looking diffuser on
the wall of the otherwise beautifully
designed hotel bedroom and thought:
‘Surely they could have done better
than that?’
Ventilation is often out of sight out of
mind, but in the rarefied world of four
and five star hotels almost noth ing
is left to chance in terms of the look
and feel of the interior finishes. Apart,
it seems, from the diffusers. A stark,
metallic grille can be a glaring eyesore
among the fine fabrics and gleaming
chrome or wood work that defines
the interior design.
Well, the self-same thought had
occurred to senior managers at
Ruskin Air Management. The
ventilation grilles might be doing
their job very well, but surely they
can look a bit better; or even become
a design feature in their own right.
The company decided they had the
fundamental design of distribution
grilles right, but they needed
something more aesthetically
pleasing for high end projects,
particularly four and five star hotels.
So it was decided to embark on
some research to develop a grille
design that continued to ensure the
right level of treated and tempered
air entered the hotel room, but just
looked a bit (or even a lot) better.
The company believes that if it
can get this right, there is a huge
untapped market out there.
Ruskin began in the London area
cross questioning hotel managers
and systems designers to establish
the parameters. Initial findings
revealed that the design of many
hotel ventilation grilles meant they
were prone to noise and attracting
dust. They were also difficult to
access so were hard to clean and
maintain.
Ruskin also wanted to see how the
room occupants will react to a new
style of grille, as well as how they
look, they wanted to know how
people feel; do they want control over
their environment; how they assess
noise and whether they perceive the
room to be too hot or too cold.
Ruskin looked into the impact of
humidifying the air supplied by the
fancoil and how the Coanda Effect
determines the route of air around
the furniture and occupants within
the bedrooms. Using the Ruskin Air
Management Development Academy
Test centre they tested the effect of
airflows at floor level and also at the
average heights for people standing
and sitting to establish what people
perceive as pleasant air velocities
and temperatures. This is vital for
a new product design as air must
not be sent into the wrong areas.
Maintenance issues were taken into
account. There will always be some
dust on the products, but if the
periods of time between cleaning
are extended that will prove a big
positive for the hotel maintenance
staff and the guests.
After various designs, trials and
tests Ruskin would like to present
“The Dreamcatcher”. The product
concept replaces the aesthetically
unpleasant grille face currently used
for ventilation outlet systems. The
new product is not only aesthetically
pleasing; it also has superior airflow
performance, a unique design feature
in its own right as a result of the three
dimensional pattern. It functions as
a jet diffuser and reaches every one
of the desired values concerning
airflow performance.
LED lighting elements can be
integrated within, emphasizing the
three dimensional design and can
be combined a with movement
sensor to provide an additional
innovative feature within the design.
Kevin Munson Managing Director
commented “We are extremely
pleased with the new product and
the integration of technologies within
it which have never been offered with
any grille before now. The design
of the product has huge scope and
offers bespoke options to fit in with
any interior. We can’t wait to see
what the future of this product will
bring.”
www.ruskinuk.co.uk