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