Estimated £38k savings for student block, thanks to Helec

Helec Ltd, a specialist in the specification, design and installation of Combined Heat and Power systems (CHP), are proud to announce the completed supply and commissioning of a CHP solution at Crown Place Norwich (formerly St Stephen Towers), which has been converted by Crown Student Living into student accommodation.

Helec was selected to provide an industry leading, highly efficient, low NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) exhaust gas emitting CHP system for the redevelopment, which is expected to save an estimated £38,000 in energy costs and 204,000 kg ofCO2 emissions per year. Helec specified and supplied two 33 kWe Energimizer EM33NG CHP systems, which were installed in the plant room by building services company F P Hurley in June 2019. The refurbishment of the705-bedroom accommodation block opened in September 2019.

Anthony Isaacs, Project Engineer at F P Hurley, said: “The Energimizer CHP units supplied by Helec are very easy to work with, with plenty of installation information provided to aid the correct installation. Helec’s engineers were also very helpful with regards to getting the units started for the purpose of the Building Management System’s control strategy. This was all done over the phone with ease. I would highly recommend these units to other engineers and consultant specifiers–they’re great items of plant, and Helec are great people to deal with.”

F P Hurley, a mechanical and electrical systems contractor based in Bridgend, South Wales, have been partnering with Crown Student Living over a number of years in order to design and deliver the complete mechanical and electrical services. F P Hurley had previously commissioned Helec with other projects, delivering CHP solutions to new plant rooms within new build student accommodation blocks.

In December 2018, Helec were brought in to commission a solution to the hot water requirements and to help reduce electrical power consumption of Crown Student Living’s Crown Place Cardiff, a 374-bedroom student accommodation block. The requirement was to ensure consistent hot water throughout the   year   while   keeping   costs   to   a   minimum   per   residence.   Taking   into   account   all   individual requirements, an Energimizer EM22NG Combined Heat & Power unit was specified and installed within Two Energimizer CHP systems provided by HELEC the building’s plant room. This CHP system is expected to lead to annual fuel savings of £9,900 and reduce annual CO2 emissions by 56,500kg.

Earlier in 2018, another Crown Student Living project, a new 576-bed student accommodation block, Crown Place Portsmouth, specified and installed two 22 kWe Energimizer EM22NG CHP units to deliver hot water services and on-site electrical power, reducing the need for grid dependency. It was estimated that this CHP system would lead to annual fuel savings worth £21,000, and reduce annual CO2 emissions by 114,000 kg.

Jonathan Passmore, Technical Sales Manager at Helec Ltd, said: “It’s been a pleasure to work with F P Hurley on the CHP systems at Crown Place Cardiff and Crown Place Portsmouth. We look forward to our CHP system at Crown Place Norwich helping Crown Student Services reduce costs and drive down CO2 emissions.”

Anthony Isaacs of F   P   Hurley said: “We   have   used the same CHP units for   all the student accommodation jobs we have done with Crown Student Living. We have been successful with our design and installation to date on all other projects, so we have kept them all the same using the same items of plant throughout. We will almost certainly use the same items of plant on the next projects with Crown Student Living going forward.

www.helec.co.uk