www . bsee.co.uk


Boilers & Hot Water


FEBRUARY 2013


BSEE


A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO BSEE The authoritative voice of the industry


Make light work of product selection


Heatrae Sadia recently launched its SpecPro water heating sizing programme for commercial and domestic applications. Here Robin Wood, the company’s Technical Sales Engineer, tells us more about how to use the software, and explains the benefits it brings for commercial architects, specifiers, M&E consultants, contractors and installers.


T


he SpecPro sizing calculation programme has been designed to help anyone who is responsible for selecting water heating equipment – whether thatʼs an architect, specifier, consultant, contractor or installer – and not only covers commercial properties but domestic ones too. We developed SpecPro because we knew there was a demand for it; we often receive queries from specifiers about how many water heaters, hot water cylinders, drinking water products or hand dryers specific buildings require and in which capacities/outputs so we wanted to give them access to this information, in a clear, simple, easy-to-follow way.


SpecPro, which is available as a CD or as a download from the website, enables straightforward and accurate product specification. It includes sizing tools for point of use water heaters, unvented cylinders, solar thermal cylinders, boiling water products, chilled drinking water equipment and hand dryers. In addition, we have also included product specification information, images and CAD drawings.


Easy selection


It essentially takes all of the hard work out of product selection, and specifiers can be sure that the correct products, and the correct number of products, are being installed.


This ensures a successful outcome, increases customer satisfaction and of course reduces costly, time- consuming call backs.


Once the programme is accessed, users are guided, stage by stage, through a simple data inputting process, with solutions (based on Heatrae Sadia products) being recommended at the end, depending on the application details entered.


Users start by inputting details about the building, firstly choosing whether it is a commercial application like a school, hospital or sports centre or a domestic property. The building can be given a name or a reference. To aid the design, there are default settings throughout, where


assumptions/recommendations based on CIBSE (for commercial) and BS6700 (for domestic) have been made. However, these can be altered as necessary. Users should find SpecPro very straightforward.


For commercial


applications, the user simply selects the appropriate water storage temperature, the maximum and minimum number of water heaters required, whether the heating method will be indirect or direct (depending on the fuel source – with a gas/oil boiler rating being added for indirect heating) and whether there will be any solar thermal heating.


Create a profile


In the commercial section a building profile is created by adding ʻcoresʼ to make up the buildingʼs hot water requirements. There is a sports core, a canteen core, a toilet core, a boiling water core, a chilled core and one for ʻother servicesʼ. Any number of cores can be added or removed as required to create the building, with repeat cores automatically being given sequential numbers.


The cores require some basic information, as well as a peak period (operational time) adjustment and recovery period adjustment.


So, for example, when completing a sports core the user inserts the number of shower heads, the shower flow rate, the time spent in each shower (this is set to five minutes, but can be changed as necessary), the number of showers taken and the shower temperature. Peak and recovery periods are adjusted accordingly. The user also adds the number of hand basins and how much warm water is required per basin and at what temperature.


Once this data has been inputted, SpecPro makes the calculations and delivers its recommendations.


The


programme always suggests two solutions, based on the simplest approaches. For hot water cylinders, solution one will be the smallest cylinder to meet the hot water demand and solution two will be an alternative, based on increased spare


capacity (i.e. extra water available over the hot water demand required for the peak period).


By then clicking on the recommended product/s the user can obtain specific details, such as a product image and summary, part number, CAD drawings showing the outline and dimensions, details on any accessories available and the product specifications.


The user also has print options (including a detailed print out of a particular core, a summary of a particular core and a summary of the whole building, which provides a total list of all the cores with all the product details). Export DXF and Text files are also available to import the data into architectural drawings, and the data can also be emailed.


When developing SpecPro we were looking to fill a gap we had recognised in the market, and wanted to provide specifiers with something they genuinely needed. Judging by the number of people who have already downloaded the software itʼs true to say that we think we have succeeded.


Virtual design


Alongside SpecPro we are also helping architects and specifiers further by introducing BIM (Building Information Modelling).


This is a move away from


traditional 2D CAD drawings to fully rendered, easily visualised 3D BIM objects, with our Megaflo eco unvented hot water cylinders being the first of many products which will make the transition.


BIM involves virtual designing of buildings to ensure collaborative involvement between architects, structural engineers and M&E consultants, providing access to data- rich 3D objects, which contain embedded asset data key to each specific discipline. An object can be a 3D image of a product, component or structure and can include detailed dimensions, material specifications, accreditations, thermal efficiencies, carbon content, maintenance schedules and performance. Available from the website, users can simply drag and drop the Megaflo eco


models into their building designs, while also being able to easily access the product information they require.


With BIM comes better data, more informed, more reliable, higher quality design, improved visualisation, better workforce coordination and collaboration, increased productivity, fewer trade clashes on site and improved construction and project management.


BIM also allows building design options to be explored digitally long before any physical activity takes place on site, whether for new build or refurbishment. With BIM everyone involved in the design, specification and construction process gains a clearer idea of how a building will be constructed and how various stages of the project need to progress.


The BIM concept became a hot topic for the construction industry when, in its 2011 Construction Strategy, the UK government announced that all public sector projects over £5 million would be fully collaborative 3D BIM by 2016. Therefore, having BIM objects available could soon make a difference to whether a manufacturerʼs products are specified or not – especially on large projects.


Valuable assets


We also support those involved in the selection of water heating products with a dedicated specification team. The team is on hand to assist throughout the whole process, providing extra assistance for architects, specifiers, M&E consultants, consulting engineers, contractors and installers. We have specialists working out in the field, and have a specification hotline too.


Our experienced team can design systems, offer guidance on legislation, standards and regulations and provide technical advice and support during the installation and commissioning stages. We believe our new SpecPro specification software and BIM models are excellent tools for the commercial and domestic specifier alike, and we are certain they will prove to be invaluable assets.

Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44