Gas Fired Boilers
Parkside Apartments
Lowering the boiler
Hydraulic Interface Unit
Contract Value:
£789,785.00
Client:
Ardmore Group
Timescale:
Jan 08 - Oct 08
Parkside in Wandsworth is the first development to be built by the Key London Alliance, which is a partnership between Barratt Homes, Notting Hill Housing Group and Circle Anglia Ltd.
The development consists of 112 apartments in a 23 storey landmark tower (Tower A) and 47 apartments in an adjoining eight storey building (Tower B). The area surrounding Parkside has plenty to offer, from the tranquil parks to the chic bars and restaurants. The London Wide Initiative (LWI) has meant that over 60% of the apartments will be available as affordable housing which will help to fuel the regeneration of the Wandsworth area.
Vital Energi were responsible for the design, supply and installation of the complete low carbon heating system including energy centre, riser pipework, Hydraulic Interface Unit’s (HIU's) and the unique metering system.
The scheme provides heating and hot water by using a more energy efficient Low Temperature Hot Water (LTHW) system. Construction of the Parkside project began before Vital Energi were awarded the contract which presented many challenges throughout. The central energy centre, which served both buildings, was located in the basement which meant that the plant and equipment were installed via an opening in the ground floor slab. This relied on Vital Energi’s capabilities and resources to install equipment (including the 450kw gas fired boilers) through tight spaces and carefully placing them into position.
Vital Energi’s experience of new build apartment blocks meant that the heating system could go live before the completion of the landmark tower enabling heating and hot water to be provided to Tower B. This was achieved initailly by operating the heating system at a lower pressure. Once Tower A was completed, the heating system was re-commissioned to operate at full pressure to serve all 159 dwellings. Vital Energi supplied and installed pipework to a very high standard to withstand the higher than usual operating pressure. A Fixed Radio Network was installed to read the heat meters in both Towers which sends the readings to a secure server via GPRS receivers where they are downloaded and issued as bills to the residents. Vital Energi provided its own unique billing and tenant management software called “Vbill” which reads the meters every 12 hours. The software makes billing and tenant management a much simpler task as the software is linked directly to its own readings database. Each resident is issued with a quarterly bill and the data is stored to allow a consumption analysis across multiple sites and multiple utilities.
Conclusion
Working in tight spaces and coordinating activities with the main contractor presented many challenges that allowed Vital Energi to produce solutions based on years of experience and efficient resources. Vital Energi’s flexibility and expertise to provide solutions meant that the Parkside development was completed to the tight time programmes and reduced carbon emission production.
