Plant room upgrades to meet latest standards

Background

In this recent project in an old people’s home in the north west, the system required upgrades to comply with the latest standards.

The photos below show the existing system. Two different boilers, one converted from an oil fired boiler and the other with covers missing, in a basement level plant room, with limited access. The two flues merged into one to exit. The gas line to feed the system was also via a flexi pipe, which does not meet latest standards.

The existing one pipe heating system was also tank fed, whereas all of the newer boiler systems are now pressurised to a minimum of 0.8 bar.

The solution

Our brief was to create a cost effective, compliant and speedy solution for the customer, to ensure their residents remain warm and cosy throughout.

The new system we designed utilised two cascading Keston Heat 2 – 55kW boilers, connected to the existing system via a plate heat exchanger. This protects the boilers and disrupts the system side as little as possible and makes the boiler warranty easier to protect. It also allows the consumer side to remain tank fed. Pressuring an existing system always presents a risk that for us, is best avoided without complete replacement.

The primary pump for the system was also replaced, and as you can see from the images below, the flue system was redesigned to be above the required height and distance from windows.

Summary

The care home environment means the demand for heating and hot water is 24/7 and almost year round. With this in mind, our commercial boiler team planned the project to minimise disruption and ease the speed of installation.

To keep things simple and cost effective for the client, we installed a remote programmable thermostat, so that it can be managed externally by the care team as required.

Stuart Dilworth, who headed up the project for Kimpton said “it was a project that needed careful planning to avoid costs running away with themselves and to ensure perfect continuity for the client. The before and after shots show what we achieved with limited time and budget. The system is now running perfectly and, with proper maintenance, will do for many years to come.