Lochinvar helps platinum building hit net zero goal
Heating, hot water and renewables manufacturer Lochinvar has played an important part in helping a newly refurbished Grade A commercial office development in Birmingham achieve high sustainability and connectivity ratings.
Interchange Place’s striking newly clad metal exterior is already established as a local landmark in the heart of the city’s Colmore business district next to Snow Hill railway station. Powered by 100% renewable electricity, the mixed used building has been awarded a prestigious ‘platinum’ rating by the Wiredscore certification scheme that promotes digitally connected buildings worldwide.
The refurbished Grade A building has an EPC rating of B and offers high specification spaces to a range of businesses, retail and leisure users. Its sought-after commercial spaces feature virtually column-free floorplates and are served by a new VRF air conditioning system. They have raised access floors, metal suspended ceilings with new LED lighting, but also with full height glazing to maximise natural light.
As part of the refurbishment, the developers opted for an all-electric replacement for its existing atmospheric gas-fired hot water system to take advantage of the renewable electricity supply. A Lochinvar high-performance Cavalier ECO electric storage water heater was seen as the ideal solution and was specified and installed by specialist Worcestershire-based commercial heating contractor Ignis Group.
Zero emissions
The Cavalier ECO floor standing range comprises seven models, all of which can operate at working pressures up to eight bar with storage capacities of 173 and 264 litres. They were substantially revamped and upgraded in 2022 to meet growing demand for all-electric hot water solutions that produce zero on-site carbon emissions.
These fully packaged water heaters, in this case complete with unvented kit, represent a significant advance for this type of technology because they feature factory-fitted multiple immersion elements for rapid hot water production. This ranges from three 3kW elements in the lowest output model (9Kw) up to nine 6kW elements powering the highest output (54kW) water heater, which can provide hot water recovery rates from 155 to 930 litres per hour, based on a temperature rise of 50°C.
The enameled steel storage vessels include an integral magnesium anode for cathodic protection to maintain the integrity of the units over long-term operation. They are insulated with 65mm polyurethane foam and encased in an enameled grey jacket to ensure heat losses easily comply with Part L of the Building Regulations.
Despite the high output from the 54kW model specified for the Interchange Place project (AMP300-54ECOG) and a generous storage capacity of 264 litres, the unit has a relatively small footprint and weighs just 110kg. This was an important consideration for the Ignis team who needed an easily manoeuvrable unit that could be moved easily into the plantroom as part of the retrofit project.
Lochinvar’s Cavalier ECO range is also designed for ease of maintenance with all the electrical components accessible from the front. All the heaters feature a built-in control system that enables each installation to be customised to meet its specific operating conditions and a ‘live’ fault reporting system to speed up repairs and reduce downtime – very much in tune with this sophisticated and highly connected building.
