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CGI of Canary Wharf’s new district, Wood Wharf

A new urban district is being created in London’s Canary Wharf, which when complete will feature up to 3,600 new homes, a GP’s surgery, a two form primary school for 420 children, 490,000sq ft of retail space and eight acres of public spaces squares and parks. The development, called Wood Wharf, has been designed to provide a new residential led, mixed use, waterside community and is expected to be completed by 2023.

The scheme was approved by Tower Hamlets Council in 2014, which described its design as “innovative”. In recognition of this innovation, Wood Wharf won the Tall Buildings category of the MIPIM Architectural Review Future Project Awards in 2014.

Working with the developer, Canary Wharf Group (CWG), in combination with SES Engineering Services, Emico and Haydon Mechanical & Electrical contractors, Evinox Energy supplied heating and cooling interface units for 1330 apartments for the first phases of this development, with more to follow for the remaining phases.

Homes are all connected to a district heating network, with each apartment featuring a ModuSat XR-ECO Twin Plate heat interface unit for the supply of heating and hot water and a ModuSat Single Plate interface unit to provide cooling.

Tested by BSRIA to project design parameters

Interface units were tested by BSRIA as a requirement of this project, something Evinox were happy to undertake, confident their first-class product manufacturing and performance would exceed the required results.

Peter Linehan, Evinox Technical Sales Manager comments, “The main objective of the testing was to confirm the performance of the heating and cooling units under the specific design parameters of Wood Wharf phases A2/A3, E1/E2. The method statement was based upon three different sources; BESA UK Standard for Heat Interface Units Technical Specification, BSRIA BTS 2/2015 Test Method for Heat Interface Units and recommendations from the clients commissioning company.”

Peter continued, “Evinox’s ModuSat XR-ECO TP HIU’s and ModuSat SP CIU’s were submitted, with a total of 8 units tested at the BSRIA Test House. These included each building’s most common HIU/CIU model and high load units. The interface units achieved excellent results, performing to the project requirements, which culminated in an order for the first 5 phases of the Wood Wharf development.”

Flexible manufacturing capabilities

In addition to the efficient performance of the ModuSat units, Evinox equipment was also chosen due to the flexibility of manufacturing and short delivery timescales. “On-time” delivery schedules were critical for this project, as some of the equipment was being built into prefabricated pods by a third party prior to delivery to site.

Their range of heat interface units are designed and developed internally by technical engineers to UK standards, and built in Evinox’s own production facility in Brasov Romania by partner Romradiatoare, using lean manufacturing principles. Working closely with component suppliers enables them to deliver bespoke units, built to project specific requirements, in a timely manner.

World-leading components

One of the key components used in every ModuSat HIU, is the high efficiency plate heat exchanger from SWEP, who are a world-leading supplier of brazed plate heat exchangers for HVAC and industrial applications. Evinox’s ModuSat XR-ECO HIU delivers impressive, ultra-low DHW return temperatures to the primary network by incorporating SWEP high efficiency domestic hot water plate heat exchangers with volumetrics that encourage turbulent flow. This contributes to excellent annual Volume Weighted Return Temperatures and system operating efficiency.

For further information about Evinox’s integrated communal & district heating solutions, please visit www.evinoxenergy.co.uk or email info@evinoxenergy.co.uk

The NHBC is the UK’s leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes, setting standards for registered builders and working to help improve the construction quality of the homes they build.

They recently announced the launch of their 2019 Standards, which will become effective from 1st January 2019. The standards apply to all properties with foundations laid on or after that date.

Evinox are happy to see some updates to ‘Hot water services’ in the new standards, where changes have been made to some of the flow rates and supply temperatures at the outlets. For example, the supply temperature at the kitchen sink has been reduced from the previous 60C to 55C, which is in line with the delivery temperature that was selected for the majority of Heat Networks, during the last year.

NHBC-Table-3-web

Helen Gibbons, Evinox Technical and Design Manager, Comments, “This change to the outlet temperature is a very positive development as it will enable district and communal heating system flow temperatures to be reduced, something which is especially important for the growth of 4th Generation Heat Networks in the UK. In addition, the lowered DHW temperature combined with the new table in the NHBC standard for simultaneous hot water use, will give design engineers the confidence to reduce the kW demand for individual properties, something which will improve both efficiency and cost of UK Heat Networks.”

Helen continued, “whilst we are very happy to see that the required temperature from the kitchen outlet has been lowered to 55C for 2019, we do hope to see this further reduced to 50C for heat network developments using instantaneous DHW heat interface units in the near future.”

Find out more about Evinox’s Products and Services for Heat Networks by visiting www.evinoxenergy.co.uk or contact Evinox at info@evinox.co.uk for further information.

For any residential building project, it would be fair to say that time saved on site is hugely beneficial for developers, contractors and housing associations alike, helping to reduce project costs and enabling residents to occupy properties as quickly as possible. With this in mind, Evinox Energy has introduced remote commissioning and warranty validation for their ModuSat heat interface units (HIUs), which can significantly reduce the cost of commissioning and time spent on site by engineers manually checking and adjusting settings.

Many other heat interface units for communal and district heating developments require an engineer to physically attend site to set-up every individual unit manually, adding time and cost to the project. Evinox’s electronically controlled ModuSat HIU’s feature SmartTalk communication technology and can be connected over the internet to remote servers, enabling Evinox to check the operation of each unit remotely and adjust settings where required.

Once ModuSat units are installed and ready to be commissioned the following quick and simple process takes place –

  • Installer Registers ModuSat Units Using Evinox’s Online Registration Portal
  • Evinox Check the Operation of Each ModuSat Unit remotely
  • Evinox Visit site to inspect a sample of units (Around 10% of the total units)
  • Evinox will then certify the units and issue certificates
  • The Warranty period begins

The benefits don’t just end there! During the aftercare period, following practical completion, Evinox’s SmartTalk remote communication system enables checks to be made and faults to be diagnosed away from site. Just think about the costs incurred every time an engineer is called to site, well these costs can be avoided using Evinox’s communication system to adjust settings remotely.

It is also important to factor in on-going servicing, which maximises the life of the Heat Interface Unit and ensures optimum performance of both the HIU’s and also the wider heat network. Evinox’s SmartTalk® communication system enables them to carry out scheduled maintenance checks remotely over the internet. The system in each apartment can be fully controlled remotely, including timings and settings, with remote diagnostic capability and client support. This can avoid unnecessary call-outs as a result of user error. Fault alarms can also be checked by testing the operation of components.

Evinox offer after-care service and maintenance plans that are available with one or two-year contracts providing flexibility, and additionally, combined packages for energy billing and maintenance, all under one roof and with discounts available.

Find out more about Evinox’s Heat Interface Unit Remote Warranty Validation and Service and Maintenance Plans by visiting www.evinoxenergy.co.uk or contact Evinox at info@evinox.co.uk for further information.

With the recent introduction of the heat network (Metering & Billing) regulations for District and Communal heating systems, building owners, developers and Housing Associations must now ensure meters are installed in each dwelling to accurately measure energy use for residents. Prior to these regulations it was common place for residents to pay a flat rate for heating and hot water, which was not based on usage but just divided equally by all dwellings.

Evinox Energy offer a simple solution to meet the regulations with their PaySmart® pre-payment technology, which is inbuilt in every ModuSat® Heat interface unit. Not only is the technology integrated, it can also be activated remotely at any time, providing a flexible billing approach.

The Evinox Energy range of ModuSat® heat interface units is the only product available that features integrated pre-pay ready billing technology. Other pre-payment systems require additional hardware to be installed in the dwelling, which can add cost to the project. In addition, many other solutions are also wireless, which may sound attractive, but can bring a host of issues especially where there is an unstable connection. Unlike our hardwired Bus or Ethernet system, which is not susceptible to any of these wireless connectivity issues.

The PaySmart® system enables residents to be in control of their own energy bills by paying in advance and therefore removing any burden of building up unpaid bills or debt. Unlike traditional pre-payment systems, the process of adding energy credit to the PaySmart® system is automated so there is no requirement for the resident to insert a card for activation. Residents can purchase their energy online using our Residents Website 24hrs a day, at a local Payzone outlet, by monthly Direct Debit or Standing Order, using our Web App on a smart phone or tablet any time or over the telephone.

Evinox Energy offer various metering & billing solutions for heat networks. Contact us today on 01372 722277 or visit www.evinoxenergy.co.uk for further information.