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When Borstal institutions for boys were established in 1902, one of their ideals was to teach workshop skills. HMYOI Rochester – the original Borstal, named after the village close the prison – is ensuring its young offenders have continuing opportunities to learn with the conversion of the old laundry to a high-specification building dedicated to providing purposeful activity.
The skills taught in the newly refurbished building focus on food preparation and packing. This requires an environment that is both clean and draught-free to prevent the circulation of dust.
To maintain comfort conditions within the 750m open-plan building, the prison also required a heating system that could achieve good heat distribution with very quiet operation.
Hadene Engineering of Chatham specified two Reznor V3 gas-fired warm air heaters, positioned at opposite ends of the building above the steel sliding doors that allow inmates access to the block.
The horizontal units deliver air across the doorways. When the door opens, the inrush of external air helps to circulate the warmed air into the body of the building. By natural convection, the warm air rises into 5m roof space, where it is re-distributed to lower levels by Reznor Maximisor destratification fans.
The Reznor V3 models were selected for their ability to distribute warmth with minimal air movement and no draughts, and also for their quietness and power. Martin Hart of Hadene Engineering comments: “The V3 has an excellent throw that ensures warmth reaches all parts of this large building.”
The heaters achieve warm-up within the space very rapidly, adding to the overall economical operation of the system.
Paul Rogers, Head of Works at HMYOI Rochester, adds: “This is a tall building and therefore a large area to heat. Warm air heating satisfies our requirements for a ‘clean’ system that does not blow dust around the interior space, yet achieves good, even heat distribution.”
