Air conditioning hire safeguards BT exchanges at Old Street site

Andrews Air Conditioning was approached by BT after fears that a major telephone exchange was a risk of overheating. It was reported by the customer that their existing cooling system struggles to perform at full capacity once ambient temperatures exceed 28⁰C. They were looking to preserve telecommunications services from their site located at Old Street, which acts as a focal point for BT’s exchanges serving London.

With seasonal temperatures surpassing 30⁰C at the height of summer, BT requested a reliable temporary air conditioning hire to safeguard their network and protect exchange racks operated on behalf of other telecoms providers.

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The potential for cooling requirements further afield prompted us to provide BT with approximately 20 PAC 22 split-type air conditioners, which were stationed at their London base. While a number of the units were needed to cool exchanges on site, BT’s Old Street exchange building was used as a centralised hub which allowed units to be retained until they were needed at their other premises around the country.

This arrangement ensured that a suitable air conditioning system could quickly be made available elsewhere should there be a requirement, with the units effectively stored until such time. The customer’s priority was to keep circuits, digital systems and switchboards online and uninterrupted to ensure all telecommunication services were upheld – and this was achieved without any issue.