ENERGY


GOING RETRO WITH DIMPLEX SMARTRAD AND HEAT PUMPS


W


hen an off-gas farmhouse in rural Norfolk needed a new heating system, owner and


tenant agreed that energy efficient low carbon warmth was the way forward, rather than a replacement oil-fired boiler. And Dimplex SmartRad® fan convector radiators with a Dimplex air source heat pump offered a straightforward retrofit solution.


The four-bedroom home, built in the late 1980s, had used an oil boiler to power a wet central heating system, but a combination of rising fuel prices and increasingly erratic heating performance as the boiler aged prompted the decision to switch to renewable energy with SmartRad heaters.


Heat pumps are one of the most efficient forms of domestic heating available. Air source units, in particular, are ideal for retrofits, as they require no ground collectors to be installed. The SmartRad range has been designed as a cost effective, responsive and energy efficient alternative to underfloor heating or conventional radiators for heat pump systems. Using flow temperatures as low


as 40°C, the heaters allow heat pump CoP to be optimised to reduce running costs and CO2


emissions.


At the farmhouse, the first step was to specify and install an 11 kW Dimplex air source heat pump against the back wall of the property where it was able to take advantage of the existing central heating pipework. 11 SmartRad fan convectors were specified for the property, with the heaters sized so the fans operate at the lowest setting under normal conditions. In fact, once the house is up to temperature, for much of the time the trickle of heat rising from the natural convection through the heat exchanger means the fan doesn’t run at all.


As a rule of thumb, halving the flow temperature of a central heating system, to ensure maximum efficiency for the heat pump, requires radiators around four times larger to generate the same heat. But the SmartRad range offers an ideal alternative; due to their advanced performance, these heaters can be sized to be smaller than the conventional radiator they replace.


Installation was straightforward, even


though the existing pipework, embedded in the floor screed, was


variously 12mm and


15mm; push fit


connectors


made it simple to adapt the SmartRad on to both. With a choice of left- or right- hand, or invisible ‘through the wall’ plumbing connections, the design makes it easy to fit a system around existing infrastructure.


The SmartRad range is available in four sizes, with nominal outputs ranging from 0.8kW to 1.8kW. However, with the flexibility of significant output variations based on fan speed and water flow temperature, the range spans applications from 0.4kW to 5kW. Tel: 0845 601 5111 Email: marketing@dimplex.co.uk www.dimplex.co.uk


tertil Stokvis, the UK’s leading manufacturer and installer of loading bay equipment, has introduced a new generation of low energy, environmentally-friendly dock lights. Also, to mark the company’s 50th Anniversary, and to thank its many existing and potential customers, the new lights are on offer at the same price as the old style lights they replace. The new ‘green’ dock lights are low energy LED models rated at six watts that have replaced the company’s previous conventional 50 watt lamp versions. Whilst providing brighter and wider illumination, the new dock lights are considerably cheaper to run, using 0.048 KWh of electricity compared to the 0.4KWh consumption of the old style lights. These figures show running costs to be approximately an eighth of the previous lights so, assuming a 50 bay installation working 24/7, the annual savings, at today’s electricity prices, would be almost £2000.


Early user reports on the new dock lights are extremely favourable with a number of customers recognising that, in


STERTIL STOKVIS DOCK LIGHTS GO GREEN S


addition to providing substantial cost savings, the new LED lights are helping them to achieve their environmental targets.


Stertil Stokvis has invested heavily to fulfil its environmental responsibilities and offers a comprehensive range of products designed to offer effective performance whilst conserving energy, reducing waste and lowering users’ impact on the environment. These products include Thermadoor insulated overhead doors, RapidRoll high-speed industrial doors plus WIS inflatable dock shelters and seals. The company’s environmental policies have also been recognised with the Environmental Management System award in 2007 which has been reinforced by the achievement of the highly-regarded ISO 14001 accreditation. Embracing a series of international standards on environmental management, ISO 14001 specifies the requirements for a company’s compliance systems. It applies to those environmental aspects over which an organisation has control and where it can be expected to have an influence. Commenting on the introduction of


the new Stertil Stokvis ‘green’ dock lights, Andy Georgiou, general manager, says, “As a company, we are truly committed to our environmental policies and the launch of our new low energy LED lights is the latest stage in our ongoing campaign. Also, our launch offer of ‘new lights at old lights prices’ means that users can save money before they even switch them on! Thousands of customers across the UK recognise that Stertil Stokvis products don’t just offer unbeatable performance and reliability – they also contribute to preserving the quality of the space in which we all work and live.” www.stertiluk.com


SUSTAINABLE FM | DECEMBER 2010/JANUARY 2011 |57


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