Canal cooling

GlaxoSmithKline’s canal-side global headquarters in west London will benefit from a novel cooling scheme that uses canal water, heat exchangers and a chiller as an alternative to air conditioners.

The aim of the new scheme, which the company unveiled with British Waterways, is to reduce GSK’s head office’s carbon dioxide emissions by 920 tonnes per annum and lower its energy bills.

As guardians of 2,200 miles of canals and rivers across the UK, British Waterways estimates that a further 1,000 waterside businesses nationwide could follow the company’s lead by using canal water for heating or cooling.

This would result in annual energy savings of £100m and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately one million tonnes, the equivalent to 400,000 family sized cars being taken off the roads.