Electrical Contracting News (ECN) September 2016 | Page 9

CONTRACT NEWS WET SQUARE SOUTHERN LIGHT Developer London Square has once again chosen to install Gaia’s wet underfloor heating system in one of its prestigious residential developments, 113 Upper Richmond Road. The property is a new build, mixed use development of 113 luxury apartments, plus retail space on the ground floor and office space on the ground and first floor and basement parking for residents. It is designed by signature architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. Gaia was chosen to supply the wet underfloor heating system to the 76 apartments in the development. Heat is provided by a central gas fired boiler and distributed to the apartments via a heat interface unit (HIU). This arrangement is highly energy efficient and provides heating and hot water to each apartment on demand. Installed by specialist contractor RPM Services, Gaia’s underfloor pipework is embedded in the concrete floor screeds in each apartment and hidden flush sensors are fitted in each room to provide zoned control. Now completed and fully occupied, 113 Upper Richmond Road forms phase one of what will be known as London Square Putney. Phase Two, which comprises the demolition and redevelopment of the neighbouring site, 111 Upper Richmond Road, is currently underway. Work is underway on the modernisation of the whole Southbank Centre site, which extends from County Hall to Waterloo Bridge and along the Queen’s Walk by the river Thames. The New Extension Building is the latest in a number of improvements completed in the last three years. Since the Royal Festival Hall reopened in 2007, 160 million people have visited Southbank Centre and 165,000 artists have performed here. The aim of the project is to ‘Let the Light in’ and emphasises the importance of easier and more direct access, active frontages and clear, more direct pedestrian access at ground level. GBE has been appointed to design, supply, install and commission the fire detection and alarm, smoke extract, disabled refuge, disabled toilet alarm and audio frequency induction loop (AFILS) systems as part of this major refurbishment project. GBE has appointed partners Gent for fire alarm control equipment, fire detection and visual warning devices, Baldwin Boxall for emergency voice communication, disabled toilet alarm and PAVA system and C-Tec for AFILS. INSIDE TEST Advanced portable appliance testing instrumentation is helping the facilities management team at HM Winchester Prison fulfil a range of essential health and safety responsibilities. Following last year’s transfer of facilities management services at a number of prisons to Carillion, the FM team at Winchester is using a Seaward Apollo 600 tester to combine electrical testing with a range of other workplace safety tasks. Importantly, as well as the safety of all electrical equipment and appliances used on the prison site, this includes the regular testing of water systems for Legionnaires’ disease, the condition of emergency lighting systems and fire alarm control panels. To help the team meet its responsibilities, the focal point of the prison’s health and safety inspection and testing programme is the multi-purpose Apollo 600 tester, supported by the PATGuard 3 Elite software program. Together, the specialist tester and comprehensive software provides an all-round health and safety management tool that combines appliance testing with a universal risk assessment capability, sophisticated data collection, and the ability to produce a wide range of reports, certificates and other safety documentation. HAPPY DEAL DOUBLED UP Schneider Electric, in partnership with EFT, has been working with Swansea University and St Modwen’s to implement a number of solutions which have made a tangible difference to the Campus Bay’s energy usage, while creating a comfortable place for students to study, work and socialise. The university has embarked on an ambitious campus expansion and development programme that will enable it to double in size and further enhance the student experience. As part of the regeneration project, St. Modwen needed to source a number of building management solutions to help make the campus one of the safest and most comfortable learning and living environments available. The university and St Modwen identified the active management of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems as a key component of controlling building energy usage. Moreover, it would also enable optimised environments for enhanced performance and energy efficiency. With this in m