Pioneering heat recovery specialist to set up in Yorkshire

AN innovative heat recovery specialist, which helps pubs and bars save money and the environment, has set up a base in Yorkshire.

Geo Bar, which was launched in Edinburgh earlier this year, has appointed Huddersfield-based Coolfitt as its major installer with 10 regional pubs set to be fitted with the money saving system over the next few weeks.

The company is also looking to take on staff as it builds its regional operation.

Wetherby-based Rob Woodcock, Geo Bar’s commercial director who is heading up the Yorkshire operation, said that the region was to become heart of the business.

“We’re recruiting surveyors and sales staff at the moment and are in talks with a number of breweries,” he said.

“We’re also being approached by restaurants and hotels as well as other leisure operations who are interested in the system.”

Geo Bar’s heat recovery system takes excess heat created by chilling equipment and uses it to heat water either for direct use or in the heating system.

Since launching, the system has already saved its customers more than £78,000 in energy bills with an average saving of around £5,000 a year.

A CO2 reduction of around 100 tonnes has been made and the firm is publishing a tally, which will grow everytime a system is fitted.

So far Geo Bar has installed 20 heat recovery systems in pubs across the UK mainly for Punch Taverns as well as Pub Enterprises, Thwaites, Charles Wells and Caledonian Heritable.

Managing director Christie Slater said it was “mad” that bars across the country were effectively paying twice for their energy used.

He added: “Our heat recovery system is proving a hit with larger pubs, especially those with restaurant kitchens and accommodation, and customers are saving an average of £5,200 a year on their energy bills, as well as seeing a substantial reduction in carbon emissions, averaging around seven tonnes a year.”

The firm works closely with the Carbon Trust, which is offering an interest free loan scheme to pay for replacement boilers and machinery in an effort to cut carbon emissions.