Water heater, boiler and renewables company Lochinvar has provided Amicus heat pumps and solar thermal collectors as part of a major new build office development in Middlesbrough that has achieved BREEAM ‘excellent’ status and an EPC ‘A’ rating.

There was a clear focus on energy efficiency and sustainability for the developer Ashall Property and its client Middlesbrough Borough Council from the outset of the £22m Centre Square project.

Two Lochinvar air source Amicus heat pumps with heating capacities of 57.4kW are paired with a solar thermal system to generate hot water for the two Grade A multi-let office facilities.

The Amicus heat pumps and solar collectors are positioned on the roof of each building. These are integrated with two 1,055 litre thermal store units, each of which includes an 18kW immersion heater for back-up. They provide all the domestic hot water requirements for each building, including wash hand basins, and sinks etc. Combining two low carbon, renewable technologies in this way was key to the overall project achieving its ‘excellent’ rating.

Billed as a “21st century business destination” in the heart of Middlesbrough, the completed buildings are the first two of eight office developments for Centre Square that will eventually provide 350,000 sq ft of floor space, with enough capacity for 4,500 office workers.  67,000 sq ft will house Middlesbrough Council staff relocated from their existing civic centre.

Major boost
Ashall, who also built Cobalt; the UK’s largest business park, has already developed Centre Square’s Holiday Inn hotel. It claimed that the Centre Square development would be a major boost to Teesside’s economy by creating what it believes will be the best business hub between Leeds and Newcastle.

The Amicus high temperature (HT) heat pumps supply water at temperatures of up to 63°C, making them suitable for a wide range of space heating and domestic hot water applications. They can deliver COPs (coefficients of performance) of up to 4.64 and are part of a range that features 13 different models providing capacities up to 100.7kW. They can also operate in temperatures as low as -20°C.

In addition to heat pumps and solar thermal collectors, Lochinvar supplied a range of other components, including thermal stores for the hot water system, which was designed by Castle Building Services in conjunction with Clark Degnan Consulting Engineers.  Specialist MEP services provider Castle was established in 2002 and aims to provide outstanding MEP solutions throughout the UK, with an emphasis on environmentally efficient technology.

Lochinvar has recently extended its heat pump offering with the launch of two new product ranges in response to growing demand for this type of application. Amicus LT air-to-water heat pumps provide low temperature hot water at up to 60°C for space heating and domestic hot water systems.

Amicus Boost water source heat pumps are designed to be used as part of hybrid systems. They extract energy from water sources such as heat recovery and reclaim systems.

The company also provides comprehensive technical and service support from the initial inquiry right through to commissioning and after-sales. This includes free of charge pre-installation visits to ensure each project runs as smoothly as possible and that the final outcome meets the end user’s performance expectations.

www.lochinvar.ltd.uk