Located on the outskirts of Dunshaughlin, this newly built Applegreen service station represents the company’s next generation of retail travel hubs. The 10‑acre greenfield site features four major food offerings; Braeburn Coffee, Crafted, Burger King and the first Taco Bell in Ireland, along with a large open retail space that features products from the Marks & Spencers' Foodhall range.
From the earliest design phase, Applegreen’s intention was clear: this facility would be fully electric, highly efficient and aligned with their long‑term sustainability strategy. To achieve this, Applegreen needed a modern HVAC and refrigeration solution capable of delivering comfort, efficiency and reliability across a diverse commercial space.
With approximately 10 months to complete and a LEED Silver accreditation target, the project demanded precise coordination across design, specification, installation and commissioning within the tight schedule.
The project presented a complex set of environmental and operational demands. As a south‑facing building with extensive glazing, the site was particularly vulnerable to solar gain. This had the potential to create localised heat‑load spikes throughout the day, making precise temperature control essential. As Matthew Keane, Construction Project Manager at Applegreen noted, “It’s tough to control the temperature. It’s important to have a system that worked well”.
Beyond the thermal challenges, the building’s diverse functions required a system capable of managing distinctly different zones. The space includes a large, high‑bay retail area with variable occupancy throughout the day, commercial kitchens and back‑of‑house environments such as offices, staff spaces and comms rooms. Each of these environments presented the team with unique requirements.
When defining the criteria for equipment selection, sustainability and efficiency emerged as key priorities. Larry Swift, Area Sales Manager at Mitsubishi Electric, highlighted this focus, explaining that “Sustainability was top of the agenda, energy efficiency and also value were important”. These factors created a demanding brief that required a highly adaptable, efficient and future-focused HVAC solution.
A fully integrated mechanical solution was developed for Applegreen through close collaboration between Mitsubishi Electric, Anglo Irish Refrigeration, Lawlor Consultants and Applegreen’s own in-house team. The approach brought together heating, cooling, ventilation, refrigeration and centralised control into a single, coordinated equipment strategy, ensuring consistency across the building and simplifying both installation and long-term operation. Fergus Daly, Sales Director at Anglo Irish Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, remarks that “Mitsubishi Electric would be one of the few brands that would have everything that was required for the project, from air conditioning to CO2 Refrigeration units, DX units for the AHU, stainless steel air conditioning units for the kitchen, wall-mounted specialist units for the comms rooms. So, the whole package, they were able to get from one brand which makes it very easy for everybody”.
For air conditioning and ventilation, Mitsubishi Electric supplied a combination of Power Inverter Mr Slim systems, Direct Expansion (DX) condensers and specialist indoor units selected for high seasonal efficiency and flexibility. Long pipe runs of up to 100 metres allowed condensers to be positioned remotely, minimising visual impact on the building. The high-bay retail space is served by four 25 kW large-capacity ducted units, while office areas use ceiling cassette systems and the comms room is served by a dedicated wall-mounted split system. A stainless-steel under-ceiling unit was installed in the Burger King kitchen, designed specifically to provide spot cooling while oil, grease and smoke resistant.
The indoor units are connected to DX condensers, all electrically powered, providing heating and cooling without the use of fossil fuels. The ventilation system is integrated with the condensers to temper incoming fresh air, preventing cold draughts and maintaining occupant comfort during Ireland’s winter conditions.
Refrigeration for all food retail cabinets is provided by Mitsubishi Electric’s ECOV packaged CO₂ condensers. These compact units operate at a high pressure and are designed with robust pipework, allowing them to be easily integrated into the retail layout while maintaining a small footprint. Anglo Irish Refrigeration led the refrigeration design and system integration, ensuring the ECOV units were precisely matched to cabinet performance requirements and operational needs.
Control and energy management were central requirements for Applegreen. The completed system incorporates local room controllers, a central AE-C400 controller for all air-conditioning systems and full BACnet connectivity to the building management system. This enables central scheduling, monitoring and optimisation of energy use across the site. As Fergus explained, “Everything is on the Mitsubishi Electric M-NET, backed up to the central controller and connected to the BMS via BACnet”. Matthew also highlighted the simplicity of the system, stating that “It’s very easy, very seamless, anyone can use it.”
Sustainability was a key driver in the system design. Larry recalls, “the equipment that we've selected for this project, all of these systems use low GWP refrigerants”. A dual low-GWP strategy was adopted, with R32 used for the air-conditioning systems and R744 (CO₂) used for the ECOV refrigeration units. With a global warming potential of just 1, the ECOV system represents a significant reduction in environmental impact and aligns with European legislation phasing out high-GWP refrigerants. As Larry mentioned, “The fact that our ECOV has a GWP of 1 is really great for sustainability,” further supporting Applegreen’s wider net-zero roadmap.
The project benefited from a long-standing partnership between Mitsubishi Electric and Anglo Irish Refrigeration. Larry emphasised that for projects such as this, “It's really important to have strong collaboration between all the members of the team, from the manufacturer to the contractor to the consultant”.
Anglo Irish Refrigeration, founded in 1976 and celebrating 50 years in business, has worked with Mitsubishi Electric Ireland for nearly two decades. They deliver an end-to-end service, from design and installation to maintenance, across Ireland. With a focus on energy-efficient technologies, Anglo Irish Refrigeration is a reliable, innovative and comprehensive solutions provider. Since 2025, they have been a Diamond Quality Partner enabling them to offer extended warranties with direct technical support to clients.
When discussing their relationship with Mitsubishi Electric, Fergus explains that “Working with a partner, somebody who always picks up the phone and they're there when you need them at short notice, it's critical”.
Matthew echoed this collaborative strength that was evident throughout the project when saying, “It's a great relationship. I would definitely recommend Mitsubishi Electric and Anglo as well; they're great partners for us”
Applegreen Dunshaughlin now operates as a fully electric and highly efficient retail site supported by a unified HVAC and refrigeration system. The installation utilises a low‑GWP, net‑zero aligned refrigerant strategy and creates a comfortable customer environment despite the challenge of high ceilings and strong solar gain. Across the kitchens, retail floor, offices and refrigeration areas, the system works in quiet harmony, maintaining a seamless flow throughout the site.
The site received positive results in Applegreen’s LEED performance survey; as stated by Matthew, “We did a survey report as part of our LEED submission, so it came back very positive”, a reflection of how the building’s operational improvements have been recognised formally as well as practically.
Centralised scheduling and BMS control guide the building’s energy-efficient operation, ensuring that even during peak demands, it maintains stable, comfortable conditions. It is described as a controlled environment, one that Applegreen now sees as a benchmark for future sites, particularly as more than 30 locations have already been delivered with Mitsubishi Electric and Anglo Irish Refrigeration.
Those involved look back on the project with clear satisfaction. “Looking at the system we have here, we're very happy with it”, said Matthew, while Fergus noted, “We have huge confidence in the product” and continued, Applegreen “wanted a premium product that would help them achieve their net zero targets, reliability, energy efficiency. Coming to us and with our partnership with Mitsubishi Electric, we've achieved all of that for them.”
Together, their reflections illustrate a project that not only met its goals but set a new standard for what Applegreen hopes to replicate across its expanding network.
The Applegreen Dunshaughlin project demonstrates how a modern retail development can adopt a fully electric, low‑GWP mechanical solution without compromising comfort, reliability or operational efficiency. Through close collaboration between design consultants, Mitsubishi Electric, Anglo Irish Refrigeration and the in-house Applegreen team, the site benefits from a robust, future‑proof system covering air conditioning, ventilation, refrigeration and central controls under a single integrated approach.
Mitsubishi Electric would be one of the few brands that would have everything that was required for the project, from air conditioning to CO2 Refrigeration units, DX units for the AHU, stainless steel air conditioning units for the kitchen, wall-mounted specialist units for the comms rooms. So, the whole package, they were able to get from one brand which makes it very easy for everybody
It's a great relationship. I would definitely recommend Mitsubishi Electric and Anglo as well; they're great partners for us. Looking at the system we have here, we're very happy with it,
They wanted a premium product that would help them achieve their net zero targets, reliability, energy efficiency. Coming to us and with our partnership with Mitsubishi Electric, we've achieved all of that for them.
GWP is important because legislation within Europe is phasing out refrigerants with higher GWP. One of the nice things about this project, are our range of ECOV units installed that are serving the refrigeration cabinets in the retail unit. The unit itself uses CO2 are the refrigerant which has a GWP of just 1. Which is great for the sustainability credentials of the building.
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Mitsubishi Electric is a world-leading supplier of energy efficient equipment that will cool, heat, ventilate and control buildings.
We supply not only the equipment but continued support throughout the lifecycle of all products whether that is in commercial and industrial properties or homes.
