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When leading heating manufacturer Vaillant invested in a £3.5million redevelopment of its UK and Northern Europe Region Headquarters, it’s no surprise that the firm insisted on exemplary building services design, and only worked with leading suppliers and contractors in order to create a building with outstanding sustainability performance.
One such industry-leading supplier was Sentinel Commercial, recognised as the foremost supplier of commercial heating and renewable system cleaners and inhibitors across Europe. Sentinel Commercial was brought in at the commissioning stage of the 30kW geoTHERM ground source heat pump (GSHP) system, in order to ensure the unit’s excellent efficiency was maximised through optimum system cleanliness and glycol heat transfer performance – a key consideration in the facility’s carbon footprint, since the GSHP delivers the majority of the building’s heat requirement.
Working together to ensure best practice, Vaillant’s service engineers and a team of specialists from Sentinel Commercial began by pressure flushing the entire GSHP system, to perform an initial cleanse. Once filled with mains water, initial tests found that bacteria levels were above the ideal level for system performance – unsurprisingly, since the installation environment simply cannot be sterile; one gram of soil can contain over 100 million bacteria.
In order to remove the bacteria from the GSHP system, Sentinel Commercial’s R700 Sanitiser was added in the correct proportion to the volume within each loop, and this fluid was then pumped through each subsequent loop, using the isolating valves in each section. Bacteria levels were tested once again, using dip slides (for a general aerobic bacteria count) and ATP bio assay techniques (to measure general micro-biological activity and kill rates during the sanitisation process while on site), while the active level of R700 was measured using a product-specific Dip Test kit. Results showed that the GSHP system had been completely sanitised, while tests also confirmed that the recirculating water was visually clean and contained no physical debris.
Following sanitisation, the ground loop was then filled with Sentinel Commercial’s R500C, a glycol-based thermal fluid specifically designed for use as a highly efficient heat transfer fluid, which was diluted to the correct concentration using mains water. Safeguarding against corrosion, microbiological fouling, scale deposits and glycol degradation, this product also provides excellent frost protection down to temperatures of -22ºC.
'Vaillant’s new Headquarters building is a prime example of what can be achieved through intelligent building services design and the highest standards of installation and commissioning,' said Ian Barnes, Head of Sentinel Commercial. 'Our industry’s ability to deliver heating systems which fulfil the requirement for high efficiency and a low carbon footprint can only be achieved by implementing best practice in installation, commissioning and maintenance, and we’re proud to be a part of the vanguard walking our own industry’s talk, along with Vaillant.'
It’s a viewpoint shared by Vaillant. 'We believe it is important for firms within our industry to lead the way and demonstrate that low-carbon commercial premises are not only achievable but affordable too when you consider whole-life costing,' commented John Bailey, Commercial Systems Director at Vaillant. 'Because our systems are designed to the highest standards of efficiency and performance, there can be no compromises with the fluids that are circulating within them, otherwise optimum levels of efficiency and performance cannot be maintained. This is why we chose to work with Sentinel Commercial. The research and development that goes into their product range is exceptional, and the fact that they offer technology-specific fluids is key.'
As you might expect from a collaboration between two heating industry heavyweights, best practice was at the fore of every stage of the GSHP commissioning process, in order to result in the best possible performance and efficiency. But what’s less expected is the fact that such high standards are perfectly replicable in all heat pump installations, large and small – it’s just a case of using the best product for the job, and adhering to the appropriate guidelines for installation and commissioning.
