Energy efficiency


Bespoke masterpiece T


A bespoke prefabricated heating system at London’s Royal Academy of Arts is meeting all requirements


hink London’s Royal Academy of Arts (RA) and the inspiring collections in the historic Burlington House and Burlington Gardens


buildings will surely spring to mind. The heating system? Less likely, perhaps. But heating is a critical service at the RA, key to creating the best environment experience for its visitors and, crucially, to preserving the valuable artworks it houses. As such, it’s important that the system remains


reliable and efficient. So part of the RA’s extensive infrastructure masterplan to upgrade its mechanical and electrical services included replacing the ageing boilers serving Burlington House. “Our key requirement was to develop a long-term,


future-proofed solution to more efficient and reliable heating while ensuring the close-controlled conditions demanded by government indemnified standards,” explained Kyle Peters, senior project manager at the RA.


Consolidated heat generation


Working with the head of engineering, Steve Watson, he saw an opportunity to consolidate the heat- generation plant across the RA estate within one newly-designed central plantroom. The old boilers were located in the basement of Burlington House. Relocating the boiler plant to the new rooftop plantroom above the Sackler Wing of Galleries at Burlington House would bring numerous benefits – from easier maintenance and future replacement to freeing up valuable space. The RA appointed Arup as services designer on the bespoke heating system. For Arup, the challenge was to reconcile achieving the stringent environmental standards with the need to reduce energy use for more sustainable operation.


Maximum turndown ratio


Arup specified using 16 Remeha Quinta Pro 115 boilers to meet the building’s flexible heating load. The boilers can provide a total heat output of up to 1.8MW to meet peak demand with the ability to be turned automatically down as low as 17kW when required for more efficient energy use. The design called for a large DN200 diameter primary boiler loop pipe to connect to the existing distribution system.


www.heatingandventilating.net The RA’s new Sackler plantroom is a light,


compact space with floor to ceiling glazing at either end. Its long, narrow dimensions presented an interesting additional challenge for Arup and CBRE, the principal contractor. “Given the shape of the plantroom, the only viable solution was to use modular wall-mounted boilers,” explained Antaeus Wheatley, Arup’s senior mechanical engineer. “The Quinta Pro boilers were selected due to Remeha’s reputation for quality and reliability across their products and service.”


Off-site fabrication


Working with Arup and CBRE, Remeha designed a bespoke, off-site fabricated rig solution that would meet the specific requirements of the project and site. “To overcome the plantroom constraints, the


boilers were arranged in an in-line format,” explained Nick Stevenson, Remeha’s prefabrication expert. “Arup and CBRE specified designing the rig in four


separate modules to facilitate positioning within the rooftop plantroom. Each module comprised four Quinta Pro 115 units, shunt pumps, isolation valves, control valves and safety valves plus flow and return header pipework.”


The rig was specially designed to accommodate the specified additional orifice plates, test points, expansion vessels and increased shunt pump sizes for each boiler on the frame.


Close-controlled environment


To meet the close-controlled conditions required by government indemnified standards, the RA specifies that environmental conditions are controlled to 20°C ±2°C. The controls on the new heating system are integrated with the RA’s building management system. Each boiler module incorporates Remeha iSense


Pro controls, pre-wired within control panels with the requisite safety interlocks and shut off switches as specified by Arup. The controls wiring was bespoke to this project to accommodate the specific requirements for additional pump control, monitoring and water treatment functions. To meet Arup’s specific requirement, the control panels were provided with interconnection boxes to add flexibility for future repositioning if required.


Restricted access


Consideration was given to the challenge of restricted access at the design stage. In order to be positioned inside the plantroom, the boilers needed to be crane-lifted and manoeuvred through a limited opening in the roof structure. This had to take place during the night so that the galleries could be kept fully operational during the project. To facilitate this, the four modules incorporate


crane-lifting eyes for smoother access and wheels for easier manoeuvrability within the plantroom. The packaging was also designed to be retained during the lifting process to suit CBRE’s plantroom build programme and minimise disturbance. The project was a collaborative effort with Remeha working with Arup and CBRE to ensure a smooth, efficient installation providing the mechanical and control functionality required by all parties.


Meeting all requirements


The result is a new heating system that meets all consultant, contractor and building user requirements, providing a high-quality solution to achieving maximum turndown ratio and more sustainable operation. The space heating and hot water provision is


more reliable, more secure, highly efficient and easier to maintain. The multiple-boiler, weather- compensating system maximises condensing operation and efficiencies. Initial analysis from Arup already indicates gas savings from the new boilers. Aesthetically, the compact arrangement of the Quinta Pro boilers matches the dimensions of the room while ensuring adequate space for the additional Remeha boilers serving the Burlington Gardens site. The result is a design that meets the stringent environmental standards required by the galleries at the RA, achieving constant volume and consistent temperatures to protect and conserve the priceless works of art now and in the future. The infrastructure refurbishment runs in parallel with the RA’s masterplan to open up, transform and unite the RA’s buildings at Burlington House and Burlington Gardens in celebration of its 250th anniversary.


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