Fusion Students has installed a Remeha R-Gen 50/100
Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit at its Cardiff student accommodation
development as the most economic solution to low carbon heat and power.
Eclipse is a luxury multi-million pound complex
providing 686 bedrooms for students across two buildings, with additional
community facilities including a library, gym and cinema.
M&E Consultant Alan Howell of Amber Management
said: “Student accommodation buildings like Eclipse have high demands for
heat and electricity. So it’s essential to select the appropriate equipment
that will comply with Part L of Building Regulations and achieve excellent
energy performance for lower running costs.
“Our Value Engineering exercise revealed that CHP
brings the greatest benefits in terms of reduced energy requirements for
projects like Eclipse. They deliver day and night, 365 days a year and, as the
calculations show, offer a very short payback on capital costs. The Remeha CHP
provided the required output in a compact unit that overcame space constraints
in a small plantroom.”
The design identified a Remeha R-Gen 50/100 Natural
Gas CHP, three 2,000 litre Remeha indirect hot water cylinders and three
Andrews Water Heaters ECOflo 380/1900 fully-condensing direct-fired
water heaters. The condensing Remeha CHP unit provides pre-heat via the
high-performance hot water cylinders to the fully-condensing water heaters. It
is a solution that is easily capable of satisfying the constant demand for hot
water at Eclipse, while reducing energy requirements and producing electricity
at lower gas prices.
Three Remeha Gas 310 Eco Pro 7-section gas condensing
boilers were selected to provide energy-saving space heating throughout the
complex.
M&E Contracts Manager Daniel Seward of CMB
Engineering Ltd, working with Vinci Construction UK Ltd, commented: “The Remeha
boilers were easy to install. We connected the R-Gen CHP unit through the flow
and return circuit to the hot water cylinders. These then pre-heat the ECOflo
water heaters. All the equipment is integrated and controlled through a central
building management system.”
As part of the installation process, the Remeha CHP
team helped with the G59 application to connect the Remeha R-Gen 50/100 NG unit
to the electrical distribution network.
“We’ve been pleased with the service we have
received,” continued Daniel. “The Remeha team have supported us at every step,
from supply to commissioning – the technical team even wired in the control
panel for us. They also provide ongoing support through a dial-in internet
connection to help with future operation and maintenance.”
For Fusion Students, using CHP in its student
accommodation projects has become a tried-and-tested solution, as Head of
Construction Paul Miles explained:
“On the advice of Amber Management, we’ve used CHP on
our last five student accommodation schemes. It’s proven to be a successful
formula that satisfies the demand for hot water while at the same time keeping
heat and power costs down.”
CHP is able to capture otherwise wasted heat created
as a by-product of electricity generation and convert it into usable heat. By
generating electricity and heat simultaneously, at the point of use, the
condensing R-Gen CHP 50/100 NG model can achieve total-fuel efficiencies of
103-104%, more than double the efficiency of conventional technology. In
practice, Fusion Students can anticipate a primary energy savings of up to 40%
at the Eclipse complex and an emissions reduction of around 60% compared with
traditional generation.
Eclipse is built on the site formerly
occupied by Cardiff Metropolitan University’s School of Art and Design.
The northern building contains 2,3, 4, and 6 bed apartments whilst the south
consists of studios and "twodios". The principal
contractor on the project was Vinci Construction UK Ltd.
