HEATING THE HIGH-SPEED COLLEGE

Infrastructure News

NORTEK SUBSIDIARY Reznor has provided its heating solution for the large-scale workshop at the National College for High Speed Rail in Doncaster.

The company supplied its Nor-Ray-Vac radiant heat system, comprising nine burners arranged in three branches, suspended at 12 metres above finished floor level, with one discharge fan flue. The NRV system produces blanket uniform heat coverage for the workshop, while operating costs are minimised by concentrating the heat at a low level, where it is most needed, without heating the volume of air in the building. Rapid response times reduce running costs further, meaning warmth is felt by people in the building within minutes of start-up and no fuel is wasted bringing the whole volume of air to a comfortable temperature. Since the Nor-Ray-Vac system burns fuel at point of use, there are no distribution losses to take into account.

Reznor provides solutions for heating rail sheds of different kinds, meeting the challenges of long, narrow buildings whose large end doors are often open. Heating systems in this environment must sustain a comfortable temperature while providing rapid recovery once the doors are closed. The fact rail sheds are frequently used at night makes it important the heating system can be easily and effectively zone-controlled. A further challenge is that when a cold and wet train enters a shed it creates a cold sink, and the heating system needs to be able to provide a rapid response to changed conditions.

Reznor says its energy-efficient radiant heating systems meet these challenges, with radiant tube heaters mounted overhead producing infra-red radiant heat that is directed downwards by a reflector. This heat creates a comfortable all-round radiant warmth without wastefully heating the whole volume of the building or the roof space. As radiant heat can be controlled directionally, only the occupied areas of the building need to be heated, which enables considerable energy savings to be realised. The company can offer different heating specifications to suit sheds housing steam, diesel and electric trains (both overhead and third rail).