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Japanese car manufacturer Honda has opened its first eco car showroom in Romford, Essex.

By recycling rainwater, using ground source heating pumps and solar power to heat water, Inchcape Romford claims to use around 30% less energy than a standard car showroom.

Honda opens its first green car showroom in Romford

A similar sized showroom would be air conditioned using a high energy central unit to cool and circulate air. The Romford site, however, uses low level ventilation louvres around the edge of the showroom and high level, chimney-style ventilation terminals mounted on the roof of the building. Wind pressure then draws air through the showroom, up through the roof terminals using a ‘stack effect’, cooling the air using less carbon emissions.

The system is fully automated, with the vents opening slightly during summer evenings to pre cool the building, and opening and closing depending on both the internal and external temperature and air quality.

Heating is provided from energy in the ground using nine, 75m-deep bore holes located beneath the car park. The heat energy is converted to 40º, ideally suited to the under-floor heating system which is laid beneath the entire showroom, corridors and toilet areas of the ground floor. The system can also be used to cool the floor slightly in warmer months.

Solar power is used to heat water at Honda's Romford dealership

Rainwater is harvested in a tank buried to the rear of the showroom, which pumps water from the roof of the building for its ‘grey’ water supplies. After UV filtration treatment this water is also clean enough to be used for washing cars.

Additionally, solar power is used to heat water using evacuated tube panels on the main roof and circulating heat into a secondary coil of the main hot water cylinder.