Aridair - case study - escape of water from loft tank

Aridair - portable climate control - bespoke heating equipment


	Boiler failure and a temporary heating installation in a large school The Problem The heating and hot water for Southmoor School is normally provided by two independent 340 kW gas fired boiler systems working in parallel. Under normal circumstances, both boilers would be used to quickly heat the school in the morning then one would shut down and the school would be maintained on the remaining one. Automation and computer management systems insurers that the work load is shared equally between the two boiler systems and in the unlikely event of a component failure, the computer would switch to the alternative system. Recently, one boiler failed and the school became reliant on just one whilst the other was being repaired. The repairs to the boiler took longer than expected and through extremely bad luck, the second boiler also failed. Although the school can hire temporary heating units and have them placed in all the classrooms; this is a very expensive and problematic alternative to the heating and doesn’t offer any solutions for the hot water needed for sanitation and cleaning. Under these circumstances the school would be faced with temporary closure. Temporary closure of schools is unacceptable in today’s world; with the trend of both parents working. Planning for school holidays is hard enough but unplanned closure is a parent’s worst nightmare. Some parents are unable to find care for their children and consequently large groups of children are often left free to roam the streets. The "knock on" effect of this is increased incidents of trouble making, increased levels of policing, irritated shop keepers and disillusioned rate payers. To avoid this disruption, an alternative heating method needed to be found. The Solution Aridair was asked by Sunderland City Council to provide a temporary boiler room which would replace the existing boilers and power the schools central heating and hot water systems. The affected building (outlined in red on the plan) is 80m long, 16m wide and approximately 10m high; it has an internal volume of 12800 cubic metres. Aridair calculated that one 310kW "Phoebus 100" hydronic heating unit would be capable of heating and maintaining a building of this size. The Phoebus was towed to the site, positioned near the boiler room and filled with diesel. Flexible pipe were connected that led from the Phoebus, through an open window and into the boiler room. Inside the boiler room, the flow and return pipes were identified and isolated using the valves already fitted. The boiler closest to the door was the easiest to access due to the length of the flow and return pipes; it offered a degree of flexibility which assisted in the dismantling of pipe work. The water was isolated at the nearest service valves to the boiler then the termination from the existing boiler was disconnected. Two short sections of pipe were unscrewed and Aridair connectors were fitted in place; the Phoebus was now connected; the valves were opened and the Phoebus was switched on. Working this way separated the schools boilers from the pipe work and allowed engineers to service and repair the boiler without draining the system down. Summary Connecting this system took less than two hours and although the school took a further two hours to achieve a habitable temperature, it was able to open and continue teaching on the following day. Monitoring and management The Phoebus 100 is fitted with ARMS (Aridair Remote Management System) ARMS allows the Phoebus to be programmed and controlled on site or remotely via the internet. The system at the school was asked to start at 6.00 am to pre-warm and to switch off at 5.00 pm, in accordance with the schools current heating program.






	Back to previous page

Aridair • Units 12a Stanfield Business Centre • Addison Street • Sunderland • SR2 8SZ • UK