Oventrop valves assist Nailsea School with its plan to be carbon efficient

(04/08/2009)

The new Nailsea School for North Somerset Council is one of the first to be built as part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF), One School Pathfinder (OSP) programme using the Government’s Partnership for Schools framework that will cater for 1500 pupils. The new development, replacing the current establishment, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, is on the sports ground. On completion, the old school will be demolished by the project’s main contractor Carillion to make way for new playing fields and all-weather sports facilities.

An extensive range of Oventrop valves will assist the new £30 million Nailsea School, with its plan to be carbon efficient using among other devices, solar panels and rainwater harvesters. The development of the services for the school has been influenced by a Sustainable Building Services Strategy and it is aiming to achieve a BREEAM assessment of ‘Very Good’.

Heating for the school, for which the mechanical services contractor is MJN Colston, and consulting engineers White Young Green, both of Bristol, employs Oventrop valves to control and balance radiator and radiant panel systems with 200 AV6/Combi 4 TRV/lockshield combinations. Some of these have 5 metre remote capillary thermostats. Additionally, there are trench heating and underfloor heating systems in some areas. To facilitate hydronic balancing and to limit noise generation, Oventrop differential pressure regulating valves are used throughout.

Oventrop Brawamix thermostatic mixing valves have been used on the domestic hot water systems, heat for which is collected by the solar panels. To simplify commissioning and provide significant energy savings by thermostatically controlling temperature and flow in the DHW system Oventrop’s Aquastrom T Plus multi-functional secondary circulation regulating valves have been installed in the return pipework.

The building is unique, has two storeys, a roof plant room and a remote energy centre housing a biomass boiler using woodchips as the lead, and a gas boiler. The biomass boiler has a thermal accumulator with distribution to low loss headers. LTHW is distributed via four variable temperature and two constant temperature circuits. All the isolating and ancillary valves for the plant rooms are of Oventrop supply. Due to the layout of the building there are four other air handling unit plant rooms on the roof.

On completion for a September 2009 opening, the school will have an internet café, lecture theatres, a 300-seat auditorium, state-of-art IT media areas and a chill-out café. There will be enlarged science laboratories, dubbed as Superlabs where up to 60 students can conduct experiments simultaneously. The architectural highlight of the school will be the 2-storey building at the central hub known as ‘The Drum’.

Related categories:  Biofuels and biomass   Environmental technologies for offices and commercial   Rainwater harvesting   Solar power and photovoltaics