Client: John Turner
Project: Underfloor heating at Trinity School, Manchester
Project Value: £190k
Project Manager: Ray Hunter
As part of the three storey extension to the North End of their Temple Building, Kimpton were awarded the contract to complete the mechanical services for new classrooms and office space being created. These classrooms are being used as a food technology room, plus a science and maths classroom. In addition, there were store rooms and a new office.
Trinity Church of England High School, is an academy school located in Hulme, in the heart of Manchester. It’s rated as an outstanding school by Ofsted. Formed in 1984 after the closure of two local schools, it’s home to over 1,400 students from 11 years old, through to sixth form.
The work was slightly different to others we have been working on recently in that it had a large element of underfloor heating to the space. Overall, there was 394m2 of floor space fitted with the underfloor heating.
This involved the diversion of the existing gas main and the strip out of existing services before work could begin.
For a school, underfloor heating offers a number of significant benefits. The first of these are potentially lower running costs and high levels of energy efficiency, but another significant benefit is the removal of the risk of pupils tampering with heating controls. In many schools where conventional radiators are used, these can be interfered with by pupils, unless tamper proof valves are fitted.
Where space is at a premium, underfloor also creates additional space and easier cleaning, with less risk of accidental damage to pipework.
In this project, the underfloor was also supported by Nu Aire Boxer NVHR (Natural Ventilation with Heat Recovery) units. These capture latent heat that would otherwise be wasted and recycle that warmth to pre-heat the incoming air to the system.
In winter the system circulates warm air through the ceiling vents, whilst in the summer months, when heating isn’t required, the system is reversed and cool, natural air is circulated to keep ventilation levels high and the temperature within the classroom spaces to agreed limits. The whole system is managed by a new BMS, installed as part of the project.
Modern buildings are very well insulated and retain heat well in winter. This can cause an issue with rising Co2 levels in the classrooms, that in turn can cause drowsiness and loss of concentration in students. The advantage of the NVHR system – particularly for schools – is that there is always a fresh supply of clean air to keep Co2 levels within agreed levels, whilst the same spaces are warm and draught free in winter. The intelligent system also has the major benefit of helping to make a significant improvement in decarbonisation and ongoing reduction in running costs.
The project was managed by Ray Hunter from Kimpton. Speaking about the project, Ray said “This was an interesting project. A mix of new build and integrating into existing systems always throws up a few surprises, but this one went well and was delivered on time and budget. ”
We have been installing mechanical systems since 1963 and have experts across the team in all aspects of mechanical services from simple commercial boiler replacements, underfloor heating systems to full heating and ventilation system installation. Please call the team on 0151 343 1963.
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