Plumbing Africa June 2019 | Page 41

PROJECT 39 HOT WATER SYSTEM The hot water system installed is based on the same principle of the cold water, beginning at roof top tank and reticulating to the plant room on the first floor of the building. Cold water is fed into the 600ℓ hot water cylinder that is integrated with two alliance air heat pumps. The water is preheated in the plant room system before being fed to the various floors of the hospital. To ensure hot water on demand, 200ℓ Kwikot geysers are installed on each floor of the new hospital. On each floor, two Grundfos hot water circulation pumps have been installed. These pumps are controlled via a control panel and ensure that pumps operate at maximum efficiency as well as notifying the maintenance team should there be any error with the pumps. The hot water circulating pumps’ main function is to circulate hot water around the respective floor, ensuring that hot water is no more than 6m from any sanitary point, giving the hospital the best user experience possible. The 600ℓcylinder and heat pump system contains a back-up electrical hot water heating element. This will automatically activate if there is an error with the heat pumps’ heating functions. As well as an automatic changeover to the element for heating, the system will also warn the maintenance team of a failure and they can then investigate the problem. This function ensures that the hospital will always have hot water, which is crucial to their operating guidelines. www.plumbingafrica.co.za The complete hot water generation system. June 2019 Volume 25 I Number 4