PACKAGED PLANT Rethinking packaged plant rooms I
Decarbonising heat in UK buildings will be essential to keep us on track with our 2050 net zero target. Moving away from individually designed packaged plant rooms to modular manufacturing of configurable systems with integrated controls could provide an answer to accelerating our progress, says Jason Porter, head of BPS and maintenance at Baxi
t’s well established that use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) offers more efficient and effective building techniques than traditional construction methods for the built environment. In the same vein, the use of innovative MMC practices to pre-engineer configurable packaged plant rooms in a factory- controlled environment is gaining in importance as we work towards our 2050 net zero target. The rising popularity of this approach is due to its ability to meet the more rigorous performance targets for heating and hot water provision more efficiently, effectively and predictably. What do we mean by MMC? MMC is a collective term for innovative processes that include manufacturing a structure such as a packaged plant room completely offsite under factory procedures and developing modular solutions that can be installed more rapidly and easily onsite. To date, packaged plant rooms manufactured off-site by specialists such as Baxi Packaged Solutions (BPS) have proved particularly effective at resolving unique design and installation challenges in individual buildings, from hospitals to schools to hotels. The advantages of these off-site manufactured packaged plant rooms are multiple: use of specialist machinery, improved control procedures and comprehensive end-of-line testing all combine to improve quality assurance, while the easier and faster installation minimises on-site labour, downtime and disruption. However, this is to ignore central benefits of offsite fabrication: standardisation and configurability.
Packaged plant rooms version 2.0
At present, all too often we consider each building as a prototype, designing and manufacturing accordingly. But if we are to accelerate heat decarbonisation and optimise system efficiency, we must change this scenario. Rather than engineering each packaged plant room on an individual basis, it’s time to move away from an appliance- led concept towards configurable packaged systems with integrated controls. The need for a shift in focus is never more
relevant than in today’s world of renewables. Traditional heating equipment like boilers are exceptionally good at modulating down, making them a very forgiving technology. The challenge with renewable technologies such as heat pumps, in contrast, is to achieve a well- controlled system design that is optimised for every day, not just for design day. We know that for our customers, the reliability and efficiency of the heating system are top concerns along with running costs. In mission- critical buildings such as care homes, schools,
hotels and apartment buildings, allowing the system to fail or the building to be without heating or hot water is simply not an option. Further, as the direction of heat moves inexorably towards lower carbon systems and electrification of heat, the associated capital and operational expenditures assume even greater importance.
Modular manufacturing
So how could applying modular manufacturing techniques to packaged plant system design help ensure a high-performance system that meets all project requirements? A good analogy is the car industry. The customer chooses the standard model of car but is able to customise it with a choice of colour, a sunroof option, and so on. Car manufacturers have arrived at this customisable solution through a series of questions asked of the customer either by the car salesperson or via an online sequential product configurator. This method ensures that customers can configure their own solution to meet their own individual requirements, including budget constraints. But it also fits with the car industry’s capabilities to deliver within the necessary timeframes through minimum variation.
How, then, might this concept be applied to packaged plant systems? One approach could be to provide the customer with a series of configurable packaged options that can be customised to meet their project needs. Manufacturers like Baxi are already applying their experience and expertise to a comprehensive three-stage procedure of design validation, component sizing and selection, and manufacturing. It’s essential that the customised, configured solution performs well and efficiently, is not over-engineered and presents good value to the customer. Under the current way of working, the design consultant engineer will have all the engineering details needed in the stage four technical design. However, the remainder will be carried out on site by the trades. With configurable packaged solutions, the detailed design decisions are moved forward in the project execution plan. Front loading the design in this way will ensure that the decisions are consistent, repeatable and high quality. Equally importantly, having the design detail in a timely manner enables the manufacturer to ‘late configure’ and so provide the customer with exactly what they want and need.
Long-term certainty
Adhering to this detailed process will ensure that all the benefits that offsite manufacturing can deliver are achieved.
As with one-off packaged plant rooms, quality assurance is high and under greater control and scrutiny due to the improved factory control procedures. However, the repeatability element from customisable solutions brings a long-term
6 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2025
certainty while also ensuring that the skills required are easier to come by, helping address the current skills shortage. System performance throughout the lifecycle of the solution is also improved as manufacturers can grow their knowledge and skillset in service and maintenance of the standardised, configurable solutions.
Cost benefits
The ability to pre-engineer the different module variables will result in lower cost through minimum variation, standardisation and economies of scale. The customer therefore has greater cost certainty, while the ability to pre-engineer the solution ensures speed to market and reduced lead times. In this way, configurable packaged systems provide a technically and commercially viable solution, one that can be controlled to make it more affordable by taking advantage of lower energy tariffs.
In short, moving towards pre-engineering packaged plant solutions will enable us to ensure that the equipment works at its optimal efficiency – which arguably is not achievable when buying at a component level. All of which benefits the customer by making the process more efficient, cost effective, repeatable and straightforward, removing the unpredictability factor and ultimately helping accelerate progress to net zero.
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
