When the world-famous Blackpool Council Illuminations team relocated its manufacturing operations to a new £10 million purpose-built facility, they required a high performance heating system. With market-proven expertise for providing comfortable and safe heated working environments, AmbiRad provided the perfect solution.

Built to store £10 million of fibre optics, lasers and illumination exhibits, the 120,000 sq ft facility, named Blackpool Lightworks, also houses workshops, spray booths, storage and offices. The building, replacing a previous leased property, incorporates higher ceilings to ensure sufficient space is available for the creation, and testing, of large exhibits and lighting pieces.

With a building of this size, wall-mounted heating would not be cost-efficient or powerful enough. The underground heaters also proved unsuitable as the floor would have to withstand the weight load of a 16 wheel articulated lorry, as well as more than 700,000 kilograms of equipment. To solve this, AmbiRad supplied five units from its Vision range, with specialist Roger Whalley Ltd appointed to complete the installation.

AmbiRad supplied 3 x VS35 and 2 x VS40 radiant heaters for use in the building’s large workshop. Incorporating the innovative advanced burner, more of this heat is distributed to floor level, thereby greatly improving working conditions for the workshop staff. As radiant heat works like the sun, it heats objects in its path, not the air or space, for improved efficiency levels and a far more targeted heating system.

Installed in a U tube herringbone configuration, the system delivers a range of benefits, meeting the specific needs of Blackpool Lightworks. With only one penetration required to enable combustion to be expelled, it provides improved aesthetics as well as minimal risk of water ingress – a key requirement to protect the building’s extensive electrical components.

Achieving stringent performance requirements, all Vision units are CE approved to meet EU consumer safety, health or environmental requirements. Eliminating both distribution and standby losses, coupled with high operational efficiencies at the point of use, the installation can deliver fuel savings of up to 65% compared with conventional heating systems.

Dating back to 1879, the Blackpool Illuminations began with just eight electric arc lamps, steadily growing to become the six-mile long extravaganza of the modern day. With its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, and with a cutting edge heating system courtesy of AmbiRad, the Illuminations will continue to grow and become a more impressive spectacle with every year that passes.

When it came to specifying a state of the art heating system for the hangars at the new flagship RAF Northolt site, there was only one choice – Nor-Ray-Vac continuous radiant tube heating from AmbiRad. Used extensively across many new and existing RAF sites, it is a proven, highly efficient system that promises considerable cost savings over its lifecycle.

The installation is part of the Ministry of Defence Estate’s Project MoDEL – a massive £180million investment and restructuring scheme to create a world class 21^st Century ‘anchor site’ in London.

The redesigned RAF Northolt includes five new hangars. Four of these, each measuring 38m x 36m were fitted with six 38LR Nor-Ray-Vac burners, designed in two temperature zones. The fifth hangar, measuring 42m x40m and known as the ‘workshop hangar’, is heated by six 46LR burners, again designed in two temperature zones.

Offering blanket heat coverage, the Nor-Ray-Vac system ensures the hangars are flexible in use, from housing small/medium sized fixed wing aircraft to helicopters. Ducted fresh air is supplied to the burners and radiant branch end vents to comply with the Crown Fire Standards for operational aircraft hangars.

Because the system doesn’t heat the air, the primary heat source is maintained whenever the vast hangar doors are opened. This ensures the hangar remains a comfortable place for personnel to work at all times, without the energy demands of heating the space after a sudden temperature drop.

Zone heating also allows the space within each hangar to be sectioned off, should a different temperature only be needed for part of it. This means using a fraction of the energy required to warm the entire hangar. With the system’s impressive 92% energy efficiency, it is a flexible solution that keeps heating costs to an absolute minimum.

Ryanair workers get a warm welcome to new hangar

When it came to specifying a state of the art heating system for Ryanair’s new Stansted Airport hangar, there was only one choice – Nor-Ray-Vac continuous radiant tube heating from AmbiRad. Already in use at Ryanair’s Prestwick hangar, it is a proven, highly efficient system that keeps night-shift workers warm in order to carry out crucial aircraft maintenance.

The new Stansted hangar is used for the maintenance of Ryanair’s fleet of 737-800 aircraft. Considerably larger than the hangar at Prestwick, which can house two 737’s at any one time, Stansted can fit in five at a time. The 189-passenger planes are brought into the building through 124m wide doors for repairs and servicing, before jetting off the following day to international destinations.

Since all work is carried out overnight and large doorways remain open for long periods, the temperature within the hangar can fall dramatically, particularly in winter. Nor-Ray-Vac continuous radiant tube heating from AmbiRad affords rapid response to changing temperature conditions within the hangar. It also promises considerable cost savings over its lifecycle.

“This is the second Nor-Ray-Vac system that Ambirad have installed for Ryanair – the first was in our Heavy maintenance facility in Prestwick, Scotland in 2003,” said Gary Adcock, Deputy Director of A/C Maintenance, Ryanair. “The system there has shown very good reliability and we were more than happy to specify it again for our new facility in Stansted.”

The Stansted hangar, measuring 124m x 58m, was fitted with 16 46LR Nor-Ray-Vac burners suspended at 19m in the 23m high tailplane section. The body section of the hangar – averaging 14m in height – was fitted with 10 38LR Nor-Ray-Vac burners and two 32LR Nor-Ray-Vac burners in four zones and suspended at 11m. One discharge fan was installed per two zones.

Offering blanket heat coverage, the Nor-Ray-Vac system ensures even temperatures, with rapid warm up time and low noise operation. Because the system doesn’t heat the air, the primary heat source is maintained whenever the vast hangar doors are opened. This ensures the hangar remains a comfortable place for personnel to work at all times, without the energy demands of heating the space after a sudden temperature drop.

Zone heating also allows the space within the hangar to be sectioned off, should a different temperature only be needed for part of it. This means using a fraction of the energy required to warm the entire hangar. With the system’s impressive 92% energy efficiency, it is a flexible solution that keeps heating costs to an absolute minimum.

AmbiRad is champion at school sports hall

Building a state of the art sports centre, the St. John’s Beaumont School, a Jesuit preparatory school near Egham, looked for a heating system that offered flexibility alongside superb efficiency. The solution was found in leading supplier of heating systems AmbiRad’s Nor-Ray-Vac – a radiant heating system that is so popular it has been installed in over 700 sports halls in the UK.

St. John’s Beaumont School’s new build sports centre, a Ball Hall project, is packed with a host of features, including a 30ft climbing wall, indoor cricket facilities, performing arts centre, rowing room and a gymnasium alongside the main athletics hall. Intended to double up as a venue for the school, the hall has a cutting edge draping system that can instantly turn it into a marquee environment for plays, prize givings and more.

Owing to the multipurpose nature of the centre, heating choice was particularly important. To ensure energy efficiency, the system had to stand alone from the school’s boilers, which function 24/7, and warm up quickly when needed. It also had to have superb temperature control, able to be cool enough for athletic activities and hot enough to keep people warm during school events. The Nor-Ray-Vac system is so advanced that as well as heating halls precisely, it can warm different areas according to need, for example keeping spectators warm and sports teams cool during athletic fixtures.

It is the SmartCom3 controller that allows heating provision to be controlled so accurately. A specialised microprocessor, it lets users control heating provision precisely, ensuring that the sports hall can be flexibly heated to meet any need, from sporting events to concerts and school balls.

The selected heating was based around two radiant branches of the Nor-Ray-Vac system. Each was connected to a 32LR and 24LR burner. These energy efficient units are capable of delivering excellent fuel savings of up to 60% on alternative methods. Such energy efficiency is due to the ingenious design of the system. By burning fuel at point of use, wasteful heat distribution is eliminated, along with the need for a separate plant area.

Nor-Ray-Vac radiant heating systems provide an excellent solution for sports halls. Mounted at ceiling height, they provide no obstruction for sporting activities and can be covered with grilles for added protection. Their height provides no obstruction to their functioning, as they work by emitting infrared rays, like the sun. These rays heat only the objects and people in their path, meaning that no energy is wasted warming the massive volume of air within the hall.

The system works by drawing fresh air from ducts into the burners and heating system with a vacuum fan. To comply with the acoustic requirements of BB93, a Department for Education and Skills mandate that specifies the acoustic performance of educational buildings, the fan was enclosed in an acoustic enclosure located remotely from the hall. This and other noise reduction features added to the standard equipment can allow the system within a sports hall to meet the regulations stating that schools are quiet environments where staff and students are not undermined by disturbance.

Owing to its excellent energy efficiency, the AmbiRad Nor-Ray-Vac system is on the Energy Technology list, meaning that in choosing it the school qualified for Enhanced Capital Allowance. This programme allows organisations to write off the cost of their eco-friendly investments against their taxable profits during the investment period. By reducing the payback period of the remarkable sports hall’s heating system in this way, the school ensured even greater operational savings from its Nor-Ray-Vac heating unit.

Completed, the sports centre is a prominent feature of St. John’s Beaumont School. Opened for the start of the new academic year by Her Majesty the Queen, it has proved extremely popular with the students. Meeting the challenge of heating its large sports hall, the AmbiRad Nor-Ray-Vac provides the school with an energy efficient, cost effective and highly usable climate control system that is a top choice with specifiers across the UK.