Nine Elms Point

Vital have faced several challenges on the project, but have worked with the client to provide practical solutions.  A strong example of this is when the programme was changed to allow residents to move into the development in June 2016, which was earlier than expected.  Vital created a temporary energy centre solution to provide reliable heat and hot water to the residents.  Despite the additional work, Vital Energi met the original “heat on” deadline for the permanent energy centre.

Additionally, the project team were faced with access and storage issues.  While the site itself is large, the landing area for materials is relatively small in comparison and the project involved large pieces of plant and equipment.  To overcome this, our team built strong lines of communication with other contractors to organise the storage of plant and equipment so that it would not affect their access or their ability to deliver work.

As well as delivering the heating, electricity and cooling generation scheme, Vital Energi also provided the distribution infrastructure, installing risers and laterals which would transport the heat and hot water from the energy centre to the individual dwellings.  When complete, the tallest of the towers will be 37 storeys high and Vital Energi are currently working on lower storeys as additional floors are still being constructed above.  High level access has, at times, been difficult but we have overcome these issues by liaising with the other contractors and by using lifts and highly skilled on-site operatives.

The final piece of the energy system was the installation and commissioning of the Heat Interface Units which provide the link between the energy centre and the in-home heating system.  The commissioning process is a particularly important step which includes ensuring the correct temperature, circulation pump speed and differential control valve settings within the unit.  Commissioning engineers will also ensure the strainers are clear of debris, that air has been removed from the unit and filling loops and bypasses are closed.  All of these can have an influence on the temperature of the water returning to the energy centre and if this is higher than anticipated it can result in inefficiencies in the primary operating system, bringing higher running costs.