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Case study: two new schools in Sunderland
For the construction of two new schools, Academy 360 and Red House Academy in Sunderland, it was decided that off-site manufacture would be the best approach. Fully integrated plant rooms were
constructed at Armstrong Fluid Technology’s factory in Halesowen, West Midlands, and housed in 18m x 8m plant room enclosures. On the date required, each plant room was delivered to site fully assembled and requiring only final connections. Off-site manufacture of each plant room made it possible for construction to proceed concurrently with the rest of the project and meant that assembly could continue regardless of the weather.
Carrying out this part of the project away from the construction site, in a purpose-designed factory, also reduced the health and safety risk. At the heart of each energy centre
is a 350 to 500kW biomass boiler, fuelled by wood pellets. Heat is also generated by solar panels. Armstrong variable speed booster sets and pumps distribute hot and cold water supplies throughout each site. By utilising a
number of high-efficiency variable speed components and advanced controls technology, the system design ensures that energy-efficiency performance will outperform standard school HVAC installations by a significant margin throughout the equipment’s lifetime.
ABOVE: example of ‘packaged plant’ – the Armstrong MBS integrated heating solution
of quality control during the assembly process for a beter final product. In summary, the greatly reduced installation times of off-site manufacture have made it perfectly possible to schedule boiler replacement projects outside the summer break. If the positioning of boiler plant does not lend itself
to the off-site manufacture of an integrated plant room, then the school may still be able to derive benefits from ‘packaged plant’. This refers to the pre-assembly/ integration of key parts of the boiler plant in the factory. For example, the Armstrong Fluid Technology MBS heating solution is a fully integrated modular boiler system incorporating fully modulating boilers, variable primary pumps, automatic fill/pressurisation unit and integrated controls. It is pre-specified to automatically deliver optimum energy efficiency and pre-assembled in the factory for rapid installation on site. It is designed in modules (which fit through a
standard-sized doorway) and are quickly bolted together on site. The individual components are all integrated and tested before arriving on site, and the power and control wiring is plug and play. This significantly speeds us the boiler replacement project meaning that a system which has been purpose-designed in advance, a 320kW system, for example, can be positioned, assembled and ready for commissioning in just a few hours. In any boiler replacement project it is important
to avoid replacing like with like, as this could fail to harness important energy- and cost-saving opportunities offered by newer technologies. The system design for the replacement boiler system will depend on the existing plant, the site’s heating (or cooling) demands and the school’s sustainability ambitions. Key technologies which have proved advantageous in educational sites over recent years,
however, include: low-carbon technologies; condensing boilers; variable speed pumps; relational control; renewable technologies; biomass boilers integrated with condensing boiler back-up; solar integrated with thermal store and condensing boiler back-up. In summary, initial discussions with potential supply
partners for heating system replacement projects might, therefore, address the following points: ✥ Will the equipment be assembled off-site and brought to the school requiring final connections? Or will contractors assemble the systems on site? ✥ Can the supplier render the proposed system in 3D computer modelling to anticipate and resolve potential installation problems in advance? ✥ What issues relating to access does the supplier anticipate? Is the proposed system designed to be modular to enable delivery through standard doorways? Or will adaptations have to be made to the school building to facilitate removal or installation of equipment? ✥ What level of energy- and cost-savings does the proposed replacement system offer compared to the current boiler plant? ✥ Does the proposed heating system incorporate technologies with proven benefits for school sites, such as variable speed pumps, condensing or biomass boilers and relational control? ✥ How does the supplier intend to ensure that
the equipment is properly integrated, to ensure that the different components of the system work effectively together to optimise the energy- saving potential of different technologies? iE
Andrew Harrop is technical services director of Armstrong Fluid Technology T: 08444 145145 E:
marketing@armstrongfluidtechnology.com
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