Installations

When a 5-storey office block in Gosforth, Newcastle was looking for a reliable way to provide hot water without access to gas, they found the answer in an electric boiler and fast recovery cylinder combination.

The regents centre office block was previously using a hot water cylinder and inefficient immersion heaters to supply hot water to 200 outlets, including toilets, showers, basins and kitchenettes. Due to the demand placed on the system the immersion elements couldn’t handle the work and kept burning out.

Craig Firth, Director at GasTech – a growing business for HVAC Design, Installation, Service and Repair - reviewed the system and offered a solution using ACV products.

Craig commented, “The plant room has no access to natural gas so we wanted to explore all the options to overcome the client’s problems. We did look at running gas to the plant room but that was too cost prohibitive, so an electric boiler seemed like the ideal solution.”

Craig and GasTech are approved ACV engineers and have worked with their products for many years.

Craig went on to say, “ACV is a brand we trust and we’re familiar with their product range. There aren’t many electric boilers on the market suitable for commercial applications, so being able to choose one from a company we know suited us.”

The chosen system consisted of an ACV E-tech 36kW three phase electric wall hung boiler providing the heat to a Smart 600 litre tank-in-tank calorifier. With continuous flow rates at 45ºC of 2,152 l/h the tank-in-tank design of the calorifier can provide fast heat up and quick recovery to meet the hot water requirements of the offices.

ACV provided the DHW calculations for the building demands, using their experience and knowledge to assist in the product specification and system design.

Craig continued, “This was a simple and straight forward installation to complete as there were no flues or gas pipes to be connected up. The products are performing as expected and the system is much more efficient than the previous one. The client is very happy with the project.

ACV manufacture reliable products that are easy to use, with easy controls to setup, and good backup from their teams.”

The client will also benefit from reduced ongoing costs and maintenance as the tanks require no anode protection due to being constructed from corrosion resistant stainless steel. The tank-in-tank design reduces scale build up and legionella risk as the hot water is stored at higher temperatures, above 60ºC. The electric boiler is also less complex with fewer components compared to gas so will save time and money in servicing.

Electricity is becoming a popular and greener way to provide heat and hot water, particularly for sites with no access to gas. In the first three months of 2020, 62.1% of UK electricity generation was made from renewables and nuclear.[1] Given this progress, BEIS is forecasting that electricity will become greener than oil, LPG and even natural gas per kWh of heat within five years.[2]

ACV offer more than 13 electric boiler models from 14-259kW output, single and three phase options as well as combined heating and hot water models. Take a look at our electric boilers.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/25/renewable-energy-breaks-uk-record-in-first-quarter-of-2020

[2] https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/blog/decarbonisation-heat-%E2%80%93-crossroads