Plumbing Africa January 2019 | Page 57

FEATURES Pioneer has been involved in many commercial applications, including the PwC tower in Midrand, the extension of the Rosebank Mall, Freedom Park, some government buildings, and even piping containers to be shipped for living quarters. Currently, they are busy with the Brits Hospital’s staff accommodation, which boasts in excess of 86km of piping just for the hydronic system. They have also been involved with providing underfloor heating for Woolworths. But here the heat is generated by means of heat recovery, virtually free as there is no heat source. The heat is generated as a by-product of the CO 2 trans-critical refrigeration plant. The hot CO 2 generated from the refrigerated plant is directed through a heat exchanger, which generates the hot water that is pumped back into the floor system. Thus, the only running cost comes from the circulation pump. The Crown Technologies team have quoted on anything from yoga studios to butterfly farms and everything in-between. As the heat rises from the floor, it works particularly well in applications with large open areas and double-volume spaces, like airports for example, Britz says. www.plumbingafrica.co.za 55 Electrical heating in particular works well in chicken batteries, explains Tewson. They have been supplying a number of hatcheries for many years now, improving the mortality rate of day-old chicks significantly. Traditionally, a large heat source is installed and the chicks huddle around it when it gets cold and then as much as half of them die from dehydration within the first week. So, they installed underfloor heating instead and not only did it prevent the chicks from dying, their slaughter date moved up by a week as they could feed day and night now. It worked so well that underfloor heating was installed in seven more of that farmer’s hatcheries. Crocodile farms, veterinary clinic animal recovery enclosures, saunas, and so much more. If you require heating, underfloor is a good choice. Even frost protection of the surface below cold-storage rooms — there is a need for underfloor heating to prevent the sub-floor from freezing, cracking, and lifting, as well as preventing ice from building up, causing items either to stick to the floor or slide on slippery hazardous surfaces. To be continued: Read Part 2 in an upcoming edition of Plumbing Africa. PA January 2019 Volume 25 I Number 1