CONTRACT NEWS AHU REFURB PROJECT IMPROVES ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RELIABILITY Multi-specialist engineering contractor, ECEX, has completed a major air handling unit (AHU) refurbishment project in the Broadgate Quarter, London. The company has refurbished two massive AHUs at 9 Appold Street, a unique business development between Liverpool Street station and Broadgate. Both units – one providing a duty of 21m³/s and the other 16m³/s – are on the 10th floor of the striking building, which offers fully fitted Grade A space providing outstanding office accommodation. The two AHUs provide tempered fresh air to the entire building. The work done by ECEX operatives included fan upgrade, chilled water-cooling coil replacement, replacing the large fresh air inlet dampers, and installing new ECEX air intake screens. The company also carried out general refurbishment comprising corrosion treatment, cleaning, painting, new latches and seals and new lighting circuits. James Gafford, contract manager at ECEX, says: “The main logistical challenge in this project was that the installation of these large units was in the top floor of a building accessed by a goods lift that was significantly smaller than the AHUs. This meant that we had to build the coils – which were around 3m wide and 2.5m tall – in kit form in situ because they were too large to fit into the lifts.” ECEX replaced old, belt-driven centrifugal supply fans with a high-efficiency plug fan array which allowed it to increase the efficiency of the system while also allowing for an element of redundancy in case of future failure.
The works completed by ECEX have effectively extended the working life expectancy of the air handling units and the new high efficiency fans have led to a significant reduction in energy usage which, through planned future BMS
PROJECT TO PROMOTE USE OF EVS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES HITRANS, the regional transport partnership for the Highlands and Islands, has attracted funding of £1.5 million to deliver the installation of a network of 24 rapid charging points on the west coast of the Highlands and Islands to break down the main barriers to ownership of electrical vehicles in rural communities. Units will be installed in Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Argyll and Bute and the Western Isles at locations yet to be confirmed. HITRANS has tapped into a European collaboration to help deliver the FASTER Project – Facilitating a Sustainable Transition to Electric Vehicles in the Regions. The project will assist with analysis of the planning and procurement requirements needed to kick start a commercial charging service. Ireland and Northern Ireland are included in the project partners.
FASTER aims to ensure that the availability of charging stations is not a major obstacle to EV market penetration, with the proposal to carry out the design and analysis, procurement, installation and operation of 73 rapid chargers (50KW capacity) across the three countries. It will also provide an additional supportive, enabling environment for suppliers and consumers and provide increased confidence and reassurance in regional commitment to the emerging EV market. Lochaber Councillor Allan Henderson, Chair of HITRANS said preliminary work has been conducted on possible locations for the chargers through the HITRANS EV Strategy, and discussions were ongoing to ensure locations were chosen wisely and in line with grid capacity and existing infrastructure. HITRANS, hitrans.org.uk
integration, can lead to close monitoring and management of energy usage. ECEX, ecex.co.uk
LUCECO SUPPLIES WIRELESS LIGHTING CONTROLS TO ‘THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE NHS’ Trafford General Hospital in Greater Manchester, managed by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, is known as ‘The Birthplace of the NHS’. Luceco Wireless Lighting Controls have been specified by SI Sealy in association with the Estates and Facilities Energy Division of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Luceco Wireless Lighting Controls were seen as a flexible approach to introducing control into buildings that could be tailored to suit individual preferences whilst being remotely monitored. Luceco Wireless Lighting Controls also gave the energy team a very clear picture of where lighting was being used efficiently by utilising dashboards to scrutinise the graphic information and adjust settings remotely to improve energy efficiency. As a result of the cost calculations of the lighting refurbishment programme for TGH Ward 15/16 Elderly Care being within the budget constraints, approximately 150 Luceco Wireless Lighting Controlled luminaires were installed including the LuxFrame, Epsilon, LuxPanel, Contour, Platinum and Element downlighters. Richard Horton, Business Development Manager from Luceco says, “We have been advised when analysed, the reduction in energy consumed from standard fixtures to LED luminaires in TGH Ward 15/16 Elderly Care reduced consumption from 33KW/Hr to 14.85KW/Hr.” This has been further reduced by Luceco Wireless Lighting Controls to operate at 55% of output to 8.2KW, resulting in a huge and very welcome energy saving. Luceco, luceco.com
14 | January 2021
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