Built to perform
Andrews has recently supplied a considerable quantity of water heaters for installation in the newly completed Rock Barracks, home of 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault), a unit of 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Army's leading front rapid response brigade. The models most recently installed are two MAXXflo condensing storage water heaters which supply showers in the Sports Hall in an energy efficient and environmentally friendly manner.
The new barracks is part of the MOD's Single Living Accommodation Modernisation - or SLAM - which is being rolled out across the country to provide 21st century accommodation for Army personnel. This initiative, which aims to deliver around 20,000 bed spaces by 2013 will provide unmarried soldiers, NCOs and officers with private, ensuite rooms; a far cry from traditional sleeping accommodation in the armed forces of
yesteryear. Rock Barracks has been built on the site of the former RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk. The airfield and its support buildings have been
maintained for training purposes and facilities include an assault course and a rifle range.
However, all other buildings have been demolished and a brand new base constructed on the site, comprising over twenty buildings. In addition to the single living accommodation, there is also bespoke office accommodation, purpose-built for each of the four squadrons. In designing the facilities at Rock Barracks, all the most important environmental issues have been addressed, including energy efficiency, low carbon emissions and zero light pollution.
The MAXXflo condensing storage water heaters, installed in a plantroom within the building, provide abundant, virtually instantaneous, hot water to the
showering facilities in the Sports Hall. Like all other gas appliances on this isolated site, they operate on LPG and this model, CWH 30/200 has a tank
capacity of 200 litres and a heat output of 30 kW. Featuring stainless steel tanks, these units incorporate a high efficiency heat exchanger and fully modulating burner function which, together with the tank design, allow the heater to generate hot water in the condensing mode up to 80% of the tank volume, producing an efficiency of 109%. Heat input and flow are carefully regulated to produce a closely controlled water temperature and a high temperature anti-Legionella program is incorporated.
The MAXXxflo range of condensing storage water heaters has tank options of 100 litres capacity with an output of 30kW, 200 and 300 litres capacity, each with four output sizes from 30 to 120 kW. The small footprint ensures ease of siting in plantrooms with restricted space and multiple flue options allow greater flexibility in locating the unit.
A digital, electronic master controller operates the pre-mix fully modulating gas burners fitted to each of the heater modules and, with BMS and other external interfaces provided, these units are designed to offer maximum performance combined with economic running costs and low NOx emissions.
Other water heaters installed in this project include 12 Supa-Flo R300 models, a range of gas-fired high efficiency condensing non storage water heaters capable of supplying large volumes of hot water. These were installed in pairs, in plant rooms within the accommodation blocks and, with serious space issues, the duty to footprint ratio of the unit was a major consideration. Supa-Flo water heaters are low water content units with copper or stainless steel headers and manifold. Units can operate instantaneously providing hot water on demand or with a buffer storage vessel and is suitable for use with vented or unvented systems. The Supa-Flo 300 range incorporates 7 models, with outputs from 70kW to 274kW and hot water recovery rates from 1360 to 5350 litres per hour at a temperature rise of 44oC from a single unit.
All units were supplied by Pipeline and installed by mechanical services contractor, Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil as part of this integrated project
undertaken with sister construction company, Skanska.
