Oventrop valves installed at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Northern Ireland

(03/06/2010)

Altnagelvin is the main hospital for the north west of Northern Ireland serving not only the City of Derry but also County Londonderry. The main building comprises a 10-storey tower block built in the late fifties. The new three storey South Wing, for which Farrans Healthcare is the main contractor, connects to the south face of the tower and a new Pharmacy and Laboratory Services Centre.

Over 300 Oventrop TRVs together with Aquastrom T Plus multifunction domestic hot water secondary circulation regulating valves were chosen by R&F Mechanical Services, Ballmoney for control and system balancing in the new South Wing of Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Londonderry.

Heating is primarily ceiling mounted radiant panels fitted with Oventrop AV6 TRVs and remote sensors linked by 10 metre capillaries to remote thermostat housings in the rooms and Combi 4 lockshield valves on the returns. A small number of the rooms on the south face differ slightly in that they are under the control of the BMS and interlinked with automatically opening windows. In some areas the radiant panel systems are combined with warm air systems, using air handling units, to counteract perimeter heat losses.

To eliminate Legionnella risks Oventrop Aquastrom T Plus multifunction domestic hot water secondary circulation regulating valves are used on all the domestic hot water supplies. In addition to simplifying the commissioning stages the valves provide significant energy savings by thermostatically controlling temperature and flow in the DHW system. As well as providing a hydronic balance of the circuits, the valves also enable automatic pasteurisation when the water temperature in the system is raised above 70ºC.

A central steam source in the South Wing basement is used to produce LPHW and DHW via a series of heat exchangers. To provide chilled water for AHUs in the perimeter and high heat gain critical areas there are four roof-mounted chillers which also serve fan coils in seminar and staff rooms. All the valves including isolation, strainers, non-return and commissioning sets up to 150mm diameter were of Oventrop supply and chosen by R&F Mechanical Services in agreement with consulting engineers Arup. R&F have been using Oventrop equipment over the past 5 years for all their educational and healthcare projects.

Related categories:  Air conditioning - commercial and industrial   Commercial and offices applications   Hot water generation and supply   Valves