01/11/2006
Two newly built special education schools in Durham County have been specified with Potterton Commercial's Eurocondense plus boilers to drive their underfloor heating systems. Durham County Council specifier Bruce Kirtley chose the condensing boilers for Evergreen Special School and Whitworth School to meet the council's energy rating for buildings target and to comply with the increasing Government legislation surrounding the efficiency of heating installations.
Opened in 2005, Evergreen Special School in Bishop Auckland, Durham County, is a primary and junior school for children aged 4-16 with special education needs. Bruce Kirtley specified two Eurocondense plus 120kW condensing boilers for the building to provide a reliable, energy and space efficient heating solution for the school's users. The installation was carried out by Leybone Urwin Ltd of Stanley, County Durham.
Bruce Kirtley said: "When specifying a heating solution for a new building, there are a number of factors to consider. At the preliminary stage, it is a council procedure to obtain three quotes as we need to assess how cost effective we can make the installation - when choosing boilers for the Evergreen Special School, Potterton Commercial's offering was very competitive and having worked with their products before, we could also guarantee the quality.
"The next thing we are required to look for is efficiency. Durham County Council has guidelines for the energy efficiency ratings of all local authority buildings and following the amends to Part L2A and Part L2B, as specifiers, we have an even greater responsibility to select boilers which deliver high efficiency performance and are as economical to operate as possible.
"The Eurocondense plus is a condensing unit and is therefore very efficient. With a full load efficiency of 86%, and part load efficiency of 96%, the boiler is Part L compliant too. Inbuilt weather compensation controls ensure that the unit generates heat when required and makes allowances for unseasonably warm or cold days to maximise savings on fuel costs."
Another big issue for specifiers is the reliability of the heating system. School closures due to boiler failure can be very disruptive to students' education and local authorities invariably come under criticism from parents if they are not able to deliver consistently high standards of education for their children.
"I have worked with Eurocondense plus boilers before and have found them to be very reliable units".
Bruce continues: "I have worked with Eurocondense plus boilers before and have found them to be very reliable units - Potterton Commercial also has a very good reputation in the commercial boiler industry. But to ensure the installation would operate as reliably as possible, we specified two units for modular installation so that in the event of routine maintenance or repairs both boilers would not need to be shut down at the same time, ensuring the school should never have to close due to heating problems."
In addition to Evergreen Special School, Bruce Kirtley specified Potterton Commercial's Eurocondense plus for Whitworth School in Spennymoor, also in Durham County. The secondary school for children with special education needs was fitted with two 160kW boilers to power the underfloor heating system.
Bruce concluded: "Underfloor heating is a growing trend for modern schools. Not only does this kind of heating provide an even distribution of heat throughout the school, it also bypasses the need for radiators which frees up valuable wall space for extra storage, for example. We have found the Eurocondense plus to be the most suitable boiler for this application and will not hesitate to call on the Potterton Commercial team again for future installations."
Richard Walker, UK sales and marketing manager for Potterton Commercial said: "The Eurocondense plus and its sucessor, the Eurocondense two, are excellent boilers for schools. They have small footprints so are very space efficient even in small plant rooms, can be installed individually or as part of a modular installation and meet the criteria of Part L2A and Part L2B which is important for achieving energy efficiency targets. With the Eurocondense, specifiers can rest assured that the installation will be reliable and return visits to the site will be kept to routine maintenance."
The compact Eurocondense plus boilers are easy to install, and have a lightweight aluminium/silicon alloy heat exchanger. Available in a range of outputs from 90kW to 500kW, the Eurocondense plus casing has been designed to ensure simple access for service and maintenance.
