Advertorial
SPONSORS INSTALLATION NEWS Gilberts Protects Environmental Retrofit
In the drive towards reducing carbon emissions, Cambridgeshire County Council is leading by example. It is actively working towards becoming net zero, as a result of diverse measures including a £16m Environmental Fund to convert all Council buildings to fossil-free heating by 2025.
One of the latest buildings to benefit from the Renewable Energy Retrofit scheme is Scott House in Huntingdon, where an air heat source pump has been installed to service the three-storey Council office block. To ensure the pump works at optimum efficiency
without disturbing the office occupants or passers-by, leading independent air movement specialist Gilberts has designed and supplied a protective acoustic screen around the installation on behalf of project contractor P Woods Construction. Measuring 8.5m x 5.7m x 3.5m, the screening effectively creates a box around the pump. The ALS30 single bank screen louvres provide
fresh air to prevent over-heating, delivering 34% actual (50% visual) free ventilation area through the screen to the pump behind. The acoustic treatment modulates heat pump operational noise from up to 78dBA to a weighted SRI of 18 dBA (validated by performance tests at Salford University). A double door also constructed from the louvre screening facilitates maintenance works. Gilberts powder-coated every louvre section
in traffic grey to further mitigate the screen’s environmental impact. Phil Woods, managing director @ P Woods Construction elaborated, “It was a complex project because of the site constraints: the only suitable site for the pump was within a courtyard behind Scott House, already occupied by a bike shelter. All the equipment had to be offloaded next door and hoisted over a wall. The constrained space meant a significant amount of preparatory design work by Gilberts, to ensure proper airflow whilst still including an access point for maintenance etc, and allowing repositioning of, access to, and safe use of the bicycle shelter. As a result, the actual installation went smoothly and the finished screen looks stunning!” Added Chris Phillips, Cambridgeshire County
Council Senior Building Services Engineer, “The louvre screen was crucial to create and maintain
a stable, correct, protective environment for Scott House- for the heat pump itself, and people in and around the building.” Gilberts’ range of kitform and factory-assembled standard architectural, weather protection and acoustic louvres are just part of its range of solutions that have established it as the UK’s no 1 independent commercial air movement supplier. Gilberts’ louvres have been installed in locations as diverse as
Wimbledon no 1 Court, National Composites Centre, Blackpool FC, Papworth Hospital and Museum of London (formerly Smithfield Market). Family owned, the company has a 60 year heritage
of innovation, operating from a 95,000 sq ft facility in the Northern Powerhouse of Lancashire.
www.gilbertsblackpool.com SMS help to keep businesses ‘chilled’ at Harwell Campus
Founded in 1946 to tackle the energy crisis and advance nuclear technology, today, Harwell Campus, in Oxfordshire, is home to a federation of leading science and technology organisations and facilities. With an array of buildings that vary in age, structure and purpose, management of these premises and the associated infrastructure comes under the auspices of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).
Building R89, which is described as business critical, was built at the turn of the century and is operational 24/7. However, it had become apparent that the four original chiller units were coming to the end of their life. Consequently, this presented a risk of unscheduled failure, which may have impacted on the building’s functionality. As this was an intolerable position for STFC, it was agreed that replacements should be installed, as part of a phased and planned programme of works. The first phase, which was the replacement of two of the chillers was completed in 2020. Southern Maintenance Solutions UK ltd (SMS)
had already successfully completed a smaller chiller replacement on another building on the Harwell site, when they were approached by the STFC about undertaking the second phase of the work on Building R89. Martin Lambourne, project manager for SMS, explains more about what was required; “There was a lot of preparation and planning involved to ensure that we would be able to complete the removal, install and commissioning in the four weeks that we had available. Prior to the removal of the old chillers, we needed to check the existing flow rates, ensure that the water was clear
of any viral or bacterial infection and recover the refrigerants. Each of the two chillers that were being decommissioned contained approximately 160kg of refrigerant, that was disposed according to the latest guidelines.” Before the removal of each chiller unit, the
SMS team also recovered the existing water, approximately 1800 litres in each, which is treated with glycol to prevent it freezing. This was stored in bowsers, specifically hired for the duration of the contract and then introduced back into the new chillers once installed. Existing cabling was also made safe and the BMS connections made good. The new Airdale chillers are 10m long and 3m
high and weigh approximately 9 tonnes. Thanks to technological advances, these new turbo chillers, which have been integrated into the existing BMS, are far more efficient. Martin Lambourne said, this was a complex refurbishment, and it was critical that the work that takes place in this building was not disrupted at any time. SMS has since been appointed to undertake several other chiller replacements across the STFC site as well as the refurbishment of five boiler rooms.
Background
Southern Maintenance Solutions UK Ltd was founded over 30 years ago and since then has established itself as one of the leading providers of commercial heating, cooling and air handling installation and maintenance services in South East of England. It has had success in both the private and state education sectors, but also has long standing maintenance agreements with a range of commercial property managers for premises including various places of worship, gym facilities and office/manufacturing buildings. In addition to its core activities, engineers at the company are also qualified to handle the installation and maintenance of a range of complimentary
34 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER MAY 2022
systems including electrical systems, water treatment, commercial kitchens and commercial pipework installation. The company recognises the need to invest in its staff and currently has several apprentices working towards industry recognised qualifications.
www.stfc.ac.uk Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk
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 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50
