A new £4million nursing home in Southampton has been equipped with a state-of-the-art Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant to deliver high quality, low carbon heating and electricity for residents.
The facility, completed earlier this year by Healthcare Development Services Ltd for Primary Care Investments, is designed to provide outstanding accommodation for 80 mainly elderly residents.
All plumbing, heating and mechanical services on the project were carried out by Swindon-based Enviroheating Ltd, with products and technical support provided by Pipe Center.
The high efficiency Baxi Commercial CHP plant works in tandem with condensing gas-fired boiler as back-up, generating electricity and providing hot water for heating and domestic use.
CHP is considered ideal for use in care home applications due to the requirements for large quantities of hot water. It also enabled the facility to achieve the challenging BREEAM rating set for the development.
Craig Gavin, managing director of Enviroheating Ltd, said: “It’s a technically advanced system designed to be ultra efficient and minimise running costs, while maximizing the quality of the environment for residents.
“Pipe Center provided excellent support in terms of product specification and technical back-up. Installation and commissioning went without a hitch and the client was delighted with the result.”
The system, involving both CHP and traditional boilers, required careful design to ensure efficient integration of all components in the plant room.
Pipe Center’s Roger Hoskins worked closely with Enviroheating on this and in specifying the makes, models and sizes of products required to meet the project brief. As well as Baxi Commercial CHP plant and boiler, it included Uponor pipe, Flamco pressurisation system and Wilo pumps.
This “total solution” enabled a highly cost-effective package to be put forward at the tender stage.
Craig Gavin says: “Cost-effectiveness is obviously a key issue in the market today. Working with Pipe Center enabled us to put forward a compelling solution that not only offered very high quality but delivered great value. It was key to winning the tender.”
Following successful completion of the Southampton project, Enviroheating is now working with Pipe Center on two further care home projects, in Erdington and York.