Press Releases

August 2007

West Dunbartonshire Council in Scotland has upped its commitment to reducing carbon emissions by announcing a major investment programme to improve the energy performance of its public buildings.

The local authority has teamed up with facilities contractor Skanska UK to replace the oldest and least efficient heating and hot water systems in commercial buildings throughout the area with the latest high efficiency condensing appliances from Ideal Boilers.

Steven Thomson, energy officer for West Dunbartonshire Council, said: With fuel prices continuing to rise year on year and more stringent legislation being introduced, it is vitally important local authorities push ‘energy efficiency’ to the top of their agenda.

West Dunbartonshire Council is doing just that. The heating and hot water systems in some of the council’s properties for example are as much as 25 years old or more. It is therefore essential we address this and drive up the efficiency of our building stock.

The first stage of the boiler replacement programme has seen two of Ideal’s Imax Xtra commercial boilers installed in St Ronan’s Primary School. Specifically designed to meet and exceed latest legislative requirements, the floor standing Imax xtra range combines high operating efficiencies and low emissions values to help reduce harmful carbon emissions and save end-users money on their commercial heating and hot water bills.

Willie Ferguson, project manager for Skanska UK, commented: St Ronan’s Primary School was identified by the council’s energy management software package as one of the worst performing buildings in the area, therefore has been the pilot for the scheme. Not only was the heating system nearly 30 years old, but it was completely oversized, making it extremely inefficient and costly to run. We are now going to monitor the site over the coming months using the authorities computerised monitoring and targeting system as we estimate that significant energy savings will been made.

The next stage of the programme will see the traditional heating systems in three other schools in West Dunbartonshire replaced with condensing boilers from Ideal Boilers by the end of 2007. Other council buildings, such as libraries and leisure centres, will then be assessed on an ongoing basis.

Continued Willie Ferguson: We specified Ideal Boilers’ range of commercial appliances because the company is the market leader in the commercial heating sector. Over the years, Ideal has developed an excellent reputation based on the quality and reliability of its appliances, along with its first class service offering and competitive price.

The Ideal Imax Xtra appliance features a fully modulating burner operation to ensure it operates as efficiently as possible throughout its firing cycle, even down 20% of the maximum output rating. This enables the boiler to match its output to all system requirements no matter what the size.

Build around a solid and reliable cast aluminium heat exchanger, burner operation is a pre-mix design with air and gas mixed in the correct proportions and fired through a cylindrical burner in the upper area of the heat exchanger. Heat is forced down through the heat exchanger to ensure maximum heat transfer, whilst condensate formed drops into the sump at the base of the boiler.

Optimum control is achieved at all times through the use of a microprocessor control. Readily accessible at the front of the boiler, it operates all the electrical functions including ignition, flame detection, flow / return temperature sensors and output modulations. In addition, the microprocessor displays boiler status and a fault diagnosis program, with remote indication of boiler run and alarm fitted as standard. A wide range of control options are available to ensure easy application of BMS systems, sequencing and sensor control.

For more information on Ideal Boilers’ range of commercial appliances visit www.idealcommercialboilers.com, or call the commercial heating team on 01482 498 690.

For reader enquiries, colour separation requests and invoices please contact Karen Jones on tel 01482 498402, fax 01482 498621 or email Karen_Jones@idealboilers.com