December newsletter for commercial hot water systems

Read The Adveco December 2023 Newsletter

Seasons greetings from the Adveco December 2023 newsletter.  

As we round out the year we celebrate a year of innovation in water heating for commercial properties throughout the UK. We also are pleased to introduce new members to the sales team and take a look at the importance of whole-life carbon and what this means for hot water systems.  We also cover all the latest updates on products and seasonal office times. 

If you would prefer the newsletter sent direct to your inbox every month why not sign up. 

Click here to read the Adveco December 2023 Newsletter

Read The Adveco November 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to the Adveco November 2023 newsletter.  We are celebrating awards for the FUSION packaged electric water heater range and Live Metering which continues to garner attention for its ability to reduce capital expenditure when transitioning from gas to electric hot water systems.  We also introduced the latest generation of MSS cylinder for heat pump based projects, look at the sustainability of existing office space and preview COP28 which debuts in Dubai latest this month…

Click here to read the Adveco November 2023 Newsletter

Read The Adveco October 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to the Adveco October 2023 newsletter.  This month we consider how a well-maintained system can affect air quality with new IAQ regulations coming into force. It’s also a busy time for events and awards. And the UK’s commitments to net zero seemed to be backpedalling as the prime minister’s planned speech on the subject was leaked to the consternation of many. We consider just how impactful these changes are likely to be on the commercial built environment… 

Click here to read the Adveco October 2023 Newsletter

newsletter logo September 2023

Read The Adveco September 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to the Adveco September 2023 newsletter. This month we consider the opportunities solar thermal systems present for both gas-fired and electric water heating systems in commercial buildings. We consider the potential net zero impacts of the forthcoming Future Buildings Standards and the recently introduced EPC ratings on commercial rentals. And are pleased to announce our finalist status in both the Energy Awards and the Heating & Ventilation Review (HVR) Awards…  

Click here to read the Adveco September 2023 Newsletter

Adveco August Newsletter

Read The Adveco August 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to the Adveco August 2023 newsletter. This month we consider how blending technologies enables commercial properties to achieve greater sustainability of hot water supply. We also track the impact of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund as it ushers in phase 3c, new Buffer cylinders for heating projects and get an update on a project to counter limescale in restaurant applications. 

Click here to read the Adveco August 2023 Newsletter

Restaurant virtually eliminates limescale with a commercial electric water heating application

Restaurant Virtually Eliminates Limescale With Electric Water Heating Application

Commercial hot water specialist Adveco has demonstrated how a restaurant virtually eliminates limescale from its hot water application to ensure business-critical daily operation. Adveco is working in partnership with a global restaurant brand to support the rollout of net zero restaurants demonstrating low-emission innovations throughout its chain of UK drive-through and high street franchises. Through the application of live metering, Adveco has demonstrated to the customer that servicing domestic hot water (DHW) water demands of between 1200-1500 litres per day could equate to as much as 20% of total energy usage within the organisation’s target net zero restaurants. One year ago, the refurbishment of a restaurant in the King’s Cross area of London provided an opportunity to address the emissions generated by this provision of hot water for the restaurant. In addition, working within existing building limits meant the application needed to maximise limited external and plant room space of this central London location. The location also previously had struggled with problems of limescale due to the hardness of the water supply, so creating an application which eliminates limescale was key. Working to an all-electric specification, Adveco designed an application that would harness its’ 9kW FPi32 air source heat pump (ASHP) for preheat with additional top-up heat supplied by an ARDENT P 12kW commercial electric boiler. These would supply thermal energy to a mains water-fed compact SST500 stainless steel twin-coil indirect cylinder. By combining ASHP and an electric boiler Adveco addressed many of the complexities associated with integrating ASHPs into the existing building. This combination enabled the system to be sized down, by as much as half in terms of ASHP requirements delivering immediate capital savings as electric boilers are far less expensive compared to an equivalent heat pump. It also immediately reduced the physical size of the system, embodied carbon and demand from the electric supply. Additionally, the system retains redundancy should there ever be a failure. Balancing a hybrid electric system is key to ensuring efficient operation. Adveco supplied the controls to ensure the water heating remained consistent, optimising the ASHP preheat and top-up from the boiler to reduce energy demands and the building’s emissions. The electric boiler operates at the same efficiency as an electric immersion heater (100%) and so the only overall difference in system efficiency is the minimal pump electrical consumption and a negligible amount of heat loss in the pipework. Although the system takes up a little more space than an all-in-one electric cylinder, it has more versatility. It requires less clearance for the cylinder, so it was compact enough to fit into the extremely limited space allowed for plant in the restaurant. The customer’s key concern was the system resilience, particularly with regards to damaging limescale build-up which is a serious and potentially expensive problem for commercial hot water systems installed in hard water areas. London is one area that particularly suffers from this issue, with unprotected commercial systems known to incur irreparable damage to immersions and cylinders. Adveco ran some initial tests at the location including use of a direct immersion. Immersions are designed for use as a secondary heat source preferably acting as an emergency back-up should there be a failure in the primary system, but we are seeing more specifications with them used as a primary heat source as buildings shift away from gas to electric as a low-carbon alternative. This is not recommended.
The difference between limescale build-up on the heater elements of an indirect electric water heating system vs a direct electric water heating system.

12 months of use of an indirect electric system versus one-month direct electric immersion test to demonstrate limescale deposition

On this occasion, the test immersion was used constantly for a week to supply heat. The high heat intensity of the immersion, even during this short period of time, demonstrated excessive levels of limescale deposition on the heating element. When limescale forms and remains on the heat transfer surface, because it is non-conductive, the surface becomes insulated leading to overheating of the element. Over time this will cause it to rupture if the heat cannot be dissipated. Under these monitored conditions the lifespan of the immersion was estimated to be a matter of months, yet their cost is not too dissimilar to that of the ARDENT electric boiler.

A move to electric that still eliminates limescale…

An advantage of incorporating the ARDENT electric boiler was that it heats water using an array of smaller immersion heaters located in a small tank within the boiler housing rather than directly installed into the hot water tank. This creates a sealed ‘primary’ loop to the indirect coil in the SST500 cylinder. The electric boiler heats the same water continuously so there is only a small, finite amount of scale in the system which will not damage the elements. The heat exchanger in the cylinder is a large coil operating at a relatively low (80°C) temperature. The intent was by controlling temperatures and employing an indirect method of water heating the system the common problems of destructive limescale build-up seen in direct immersion electric heating would be eliminated. One year on from the commissioning of the system, the first annual warranty servicing demonstrated the efficacy of this approach. Upon removal of the coil from the SST500 for inspection it was clear that limescale deposition had been minimised. What little limescale which had deposited on the coil surface over the year could be easily wiped from the surface, before placing back into the cylinder. With the cylinder forming significantly less scale, the restaurant has gained from vastly improved reliability while reducing maintenance demands, for both operational and maintenance savings on top of crucial emission reductions. Visit the Adveco restaurant resource for more guidance on delivering low carbon and renewables to help achieve net zero restaurants by 2050, or read our free brochure. Also read our handbook (PDF) for further information on the application of electric hot water that eliminates limescale.
FUSION sink or basin

Sink or Basin-led Projects Go Low Carbon

Sink or Basin Led Projects Go Low Carbon

FUSION sink or basin

For commercial organisations, there is a new pre-sized response to sink or basin-led hot water projects from Adveco.  The next-generation FUSION range from Adveco is a complete range of packaged electric and packaged renewable electric water heaters.

FUSION is a modern, future-proof system that embraces electric water heating and the option to incorporate air source heat pumps (ASHP) to lower carbon emissions in line with government calls for net zero. As an all-electric system, it uses familiar technology that is relatively simple and quick to install, cost-effective, reduces carbon emissions and removes dangerous NOₓ emissions for improved indoor air quality (IAQ) for enhanced occupant comfort. With an increased heating capacity over first-generation Adveco FUSION systems of up to 34 kW, the next generation of FUSION systems offers greater versatility for meeting domestic hot water (DHW) demands across a range of properties used for commercial operations. Projects with small to medium sink or and basin-led hot water demands, taller buildings with basement plant rooms and businesses that depend on 24/7 hot water provision for continuity of service all gain advantages from using FUSION.

The packaged format enables flexibility to specify from a range of cylinders, primary electrical heating, air source heat pumps for pre-heat, and immersions for back-up all supported by Adveco’s bespoke controls to ensure optimal, efficient operation. FUSION cylinders (ATSI & ATST) come with dedicated mounting points for the ARDENT electric boiler, simplifying and reducing the chance of installation errors.

By mounting the electric boiler directly to the cylinder FUSION is a more compact, space-saving option when specifying or having to refurbish an existing plant room. The cylinder connections and clean-out plate are all arranged on the front of the tank for easy access when connecting pre-built pipework with a choice of left- or right-hand side connection, and for regular maintenance. This arrangement also enables FUSION to be situated tightly into a corner, again maximising available space. Corrosion-resistant stainless steel construction makes FUSION’s cylinders perfect for either soft or hard water areas. With 10 Bar operating pressure, the ATSI and ATST are more than capable of serving the needs of taller buildings, especially those with existing basement plant rooms.

The use of the 9, 12 or 24 kW ARDENT electric boiler replaces the use of a single immersion for primary heating. Capital costs are not only equivalent, but ARDENT, with multiple immersions inside its sealed storage tank provides automatically balanced usage to prolong system life and immediate resilience for the boiler should there be a failure of one of its immersions. The typical cause of immersion failure in sink or basin-led systems is the creation of limescale in hard water areas, production of which is accelerated by the higher heat intensity of electrical water heating. This is avoided in FUSION, as the ARDENT is used in a sealed ‘primary’ loop to an indirect coil in the system’s cylinder.  The ARDENT electric boiler heats the same water continuously so there is only a small, finite amount of scale in the system which will not damage the elements, effectively eliminating damage to the immersions by limescale.

FUSION cylinders offer single (ATSI) and twin-coil (ATST) variants with capacities ranging from 200 to 500 litres. Single coil cylinders (ASTI) are used for standard electric indirect water heating with an ARDENT electric boiler (FUSION-E), and the option of an immersion for resistive heating ‘directly’ to water in the cylinder (FUSION-Eplus).

Dual-coil cylinders (ATST) enable the addition of a 6 or 10 kW FPi32 monobloc air to water heat pump. The ASHP is connected to the lower coil and supplies indirect pre-heat to the vessel, while ARDENT is connected to the upper coil to provide primary indirect heating (FUSION-T & -Tplus). FUSION E systems come with a thermostat and overheat thermostat as standard, but for renewable variants featuring dual-coil ATST cylinders and ASHP, optimisation within the FUSION system comes from Adveco’s purpose-built FUSION Control Box. This smartly balances the two heat sources enabling the water in the cylinder to be heated in the most efficient way. The heat pump’s contribution is maximised, achieving a working pre-heat flow temperature of 50°C under UK weather conditions, even if the ambient air temperature drops as low as -25°C.

With the cylinder water pre-heated by the ASHP, the ARDENT boiler is not required to work as hard to raise flow temperatures to the 65°C demanded by commercial applications. Electrical demand on the boiler is reduced by as much as 30%, delivering operational savings and reducing carbon emissions by up to 71%. This variant is perfect for organisations seeking to invest in a water heating application as part of a decarbonisation strategy without losing sight of higher operational costs associated with all-electric systems compared to equivalent gas-fired water heating.

Where hot water demands become a business-critical service, FUSION will also support the addition of an Adveco backup immersion providing additional resilience. Fitted into the front-facing clean-out access, the immersion ensures there is no single point of failure for assured service provision. When only used as an emergency heating source, or during periods of unplanned excess demand, the inclusion of an electric immersion can be extremely advantageous. For FUSION systems incorporating the additional backup immersion (FUSION FPH-Eplus & FPH-Tplus) controls are further extended to incorporate SMS output to advise building managers of a fault scenario and automated engagement of the immersion back-up to guarantee business-critical hot water supply.

For commercial organisations specifying a sink or basin-led hot water system for new buildings faced with regulatory changes on new gas connections, or planning to move from existing gas-fired systems to electrical alternatives FUSION provides an impressive range of choices whether cost, sustainability or business security are the driving factors for specification.

Read more about Adveco FUSION

 

All electric banner

All Electric ? Sustainability & Water Heating Pt.3

In this three-part series, Adveco has so far addressed the role of air source heat pumps and solar thermal as a source of low carbon preheat, in this final part, we consider the future of gas and the adaptation to all electric applications for implementing more sustainable hot water in commercial buildings.  

Read Part 1 Sustainability & Hot Water – Which Path Is Right For Commercial Properties? 

Read part 2 sustainability & Hot Water – Using The Sun

Despite the pressure to address carbon emissions in building stock in the UK, the fact is we are still waiting for clear advice at a government policy level. The final decision on energy solutions remains unresolved. So do you opt to go all electric with equipment now on the basis that the grid will become zero carbon or hold out for the option of carbon-free gas such as Hydrogen, which in terms of infrastructure change and refurbishment would be potentially quicker, cheaper and less disruptive.

As indicated, if your building has a gas connection and has high hot water demands it remains the most cost-effective option. Additionally, new gas-fired appliances operate with ever-reduced emissions, and most are ready to accept the initial proposed 20% hydrogen blends in the gas grid as early as 2024 without requiring any alteration. ‘Hydrogen Ready’ units are, with a replacement of the burner and pre-mixer, even capable of burning 100% hydrogen, but that scenario is some time away. Should hydrogen be accepted by the government as a function of net zero we would not expect 100% feeds to be in place nationally until 2040 with the grid changeover beginning in the early to mid-2030s. Retaining an existing gas connection, therefore, provides a degree of futureproofing should green gas technology be embraced.

What is clear though is that the latest building regulations (Part L, 2021) have radically revised the carbon intensity of electricity from 519g CO/kWh ten years ago to just 136 today. Gas in the same period has fallen from 240 to 233. Whilst the regulations do not yet exclude gas, they do advantage the adoption of all electric systems. We have demonstrated that renewables have a critical role in reducing the carbon emissions of a system, as well as offsetting the costs of heating water with direct electricity.

Gas-based hot water applications are, by a factor of 3.8, currently cheaper to operate than direct grid-electric systems. Using heat pumps can offset 25-35% of those energy costs, but this still leaves a considerable excess operating charge because of the need to provide top-up energy for safe operating temperatures. Historically, additional system top-up was provided by electric immersions, which for backup purposes and occasional peaks in demand whilst more expensive was acceptable. The shift to fully electric systems has put a greater onus on the technology which was never designed to provide primary heat. The costs are excessive and as we indicated, should they be deployed hard water, can rapidly develop scale leading to permanent damage in a remarkably short time. For this reason, we recommend the replacement of immersion technology with smaller electric boilers that are both more efficient, and, because they operate in a closed loop will avoid the issues of systems scaling up.

Perhaps the most detrimental issue we see today as a result of replacing gas with electricity is the propensity to oversize the new all electric system, replacing gas appliances with electric alternatives with like-for-like capabilities. Hot water systems have been inherently oversized in the past through a lack of understanding of application design or concerns over providing suitable backup to ensure system continuity. The result of oversizing is however always the same, unnecessary capital costs for system supply and installation, but when replacing gas with electricity, oversizing leads to greater electrical demand and should that exceed a building’s available amperage of electrical supply, project installation costs will inevitably soar, or even stall the project.

This can best be avoided by understanding your building’s actual hot water demands and designing the replacement to meet those specific needs. There is an art to designing hot water systems, but real, actionable data is priceless. When considering options for introducing sustainability the best advice we can give is to understand your needs first. Live metering is an easy, non-intrusive way of securing the valuable operational data you need to make informed decisions that deliver on expectations to lower carbon emissions without incurring unforeseen costs.

 

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Using The Sun – Sustainability & Water Heating part 2

In this three-part series Adveco considers the choices available to commercial organisations that wish to advance decarbonisation strategies in their buildings through the implementation of more sustainable hot water. In part 1 we considered the role of air source heat pumps as a source of low carbon preheat, now we turn our attention to using the sun with solar thermal systems…

Read Part 1 Sustainability & Hot Water – Which Path Is Right For Commercial Properties? 

Using the sun to generate free heat from solar energy is a well-recognised and proven route for introducing renewables into a building project. As a high-temperature renewable source of hot water, solar thermal lends itself to working in conjunction with not only conventional gas heating but also other renewable technologies including air source heat pumps which can be used to provide pre-heat to solar thermal. This enables a variety of hybrid applications to be considered to meet the varied demands of commercial buildings.

Solar thermal systems are ideal for businesses that use and rely on large amounts of hot water, but it is important to understand that a solar thermal system will not fully replace your existing water heating system and will not provide space heating.

All areas of the UK are suitable for using the sun through solar energy technology; however, solar insolation, the energy generated from sunlight within collectors, will decrease as the sun’s inclination falls in the winter months and this is affected by how northerly located a building is in the UK as well as cloud cover. When it comes to using the Sun, solar thermal systems are obviously most productive in the summer months, when there is most sunlight, resulting in the additional need for either non-renewable energy sources or heat pumps which will still generate usable year round, even if ambient outside temperatures drop to -20°C during the winter months.

Shading from neighbouring buildings or tall trees, for example, can also greatly reduce a solar system’s output in which case a commercial air source heat pump would be a preferred alternative to produce low-carbon heat energy.

The actual percentage of your water heating demand covered by solar thermal will depend on your site and energy consumption habits (though this figure is typically around 30% for commercial sites). A south-facing and unobstructed roof with an inclination of 30° from the horizontal is optimal, though by no means essential as solar collectors can be installed in a variety of ways: built on the roof; built in roof; mounted on walls or on a frame construction to achieve inclination on flat roofs.

Sized and installed correctly, a single solar thermal collector can contribute up to 1400kWh per annum, providing electricity savings of £300 and more importantly reducing emissions of CO² by 322kg.

It is important to recognise that solar thermal differs from solar photovoltaic or Solar PV as it is known. Solar PV uses solar cells in a panel to convert the solar energy into electricity that can be stored, used as required, and even be sold back to the grid. Solar thermal works by a process of fluid heating in the collector panels that is then transferred via indirect heating in the cylinder into the hot water system.  This requires basic plumbing for its installation and a minimum 3m drop to ensure flow. This does mean it is really only suited to installation on a building, rather than in the grounds, although that helps reduce the threat of vandalism compared to frames installed on ground level.

Giving consideration only to the hot water system, solar thermal is still more advantageous compared to equivalent-sized solar PV systems. For example, a 4kW solar PV system and the equivalent solar thermal system will cost almost the same to purchase and install, with minimal operational costs, but solar thermal will exhibit a much smaller physical footprint. A typical 4 kW PV system would require 16 collectors at 25m², whereas this would be matched by just three solar thermal collectors for a total footprint of 6.6m². This makes solar thermal a better choice for buildings with reduced roof space, especially if sustainable projects are intending to introduce a mix of solar thermal, heat pump and solar PV. The silent operation of solar is also a consideration factor.

To ensure system longevity and return on investment, fluid within the solar collectors must be correctly managed. If left in the panel it can overheat, stagnate and leave collectors irreparable. This can be avoided by incorporating Drain Back into solar system designs. This gravity flow approach reduces pump capacity requirements and energy use of the pump station to a minimum and will automatically drain fluid if power is cut without the need for working components. This makes solar thermal systems with drain back low maintenance with long operational lifespans. Fluid refresh is, on average, required every eight years but may last much longer.

Certain commercial system designs can demand a minimum of 45°C of preheat which, due to annual variation in production, could preclude the use of solar thermal as a lone preheat source. This does match the minimum working flow temperature for preheat that would be designed into a system utilising the current generation of air source heat pump.

Under such conditions, a typical sustainable application would see a cylinder sized to meet the storage requirements of the building’s hot water demands with the heat coming from a combination of an air source heat pump and solar thermal collectors working in conjunction to guarantee the preheat temperature. The heat pump, operating at optimal efficiency at lower temperatures will preheat the 5°C cold feed to 45°C at which point the solar thermal is employed to further raise temperature to 50 or 60°C depending on the time of year. Working together the renewables can offset the majority of the electrical costs otherwise required to heat the water, even during periods of peak demand.

Using the sun to provide energy to preheat a hot water application or top-up preheat in a hybrid hot water application is truly advantageous, but is not a singular response for the total hot water demand in commercial organisations.  In the third and final part of this blog series we will we consider the future of gas and the adaptation to all-electric applications…