PROJECT 31
The ring main system when SHE arrived , they established an unbalanced water system i . e ., no balancing valves , meaning people waited an incredibly long time for hot water , sometimes up to two minutes . This was the first part of the task – to fix the ring main system correctly with thermostatic balancing valves and reinsulate the piping . When completed the hot water was available within seconds .
Furthermore , the contractor could not treat this project as a refurb due to the building being occupied , so it was a matter of removing one tank at a time and replacing it with a locally manufactured Solar Heat Exchangers heat accumulator and once commissioned the remaining tanks could be replaced with the other heat accumulator . “ It was a tedious job , stated Michael , but had to be done this way as we were dealing with 3 occupied buildings .” Heat accumulators are noncorrosive vessels that store energy at low pressure and through heat exchangers deliver heated pressurised potable water to the end user . The process is to pre feed solar heated water into the heat pump vessel so whatever energy is gained during the day from solar is now transferred , preheated to the heat pump tank . This eliminates the need of fresh cold water coming into the heat pump vessel .
“ So , with some smart controlling and depending on the day what temperature the solar tanks are sitting at , the return line coming back from the building either goes back to the solar tank , reheats to the required temperature , and returns to the heat accumulator ,”
Solar Heat Exchangers said Michael . Original boilers took a bit of a hammering !
January 2023 Volume 28 I Number 11 www . plumbingafrica . co . za