Part of the £91 million
refurbishment of London’s Royal Festival Hall, a
Grade I listed building, included the upgrade of all
the heating and cooling systems for which Oventrop
supplied all the valves for the LTHW variable
temperature heating circuits.
With a specification requiring a noise rating of
RC15(N) in the auditorium – half that of a normal
office – the selection of valves was critical so
Shepherd Engineering Services(SES), the M&E
contractors for the project, installed Oventrop
Series F low flow thermostatic radiator valves with
remote roomstat sensing for the radiant heat panels
as specified by Max Fordham LLP, the consulting
engineers for the project. These TRVs offer an
ultrafine preset facility which makes them
particularly suitable for low noise situations.
The TRVs are used in conjunction with Oventrop
Hydromat differential pressure regulators linked by
capillary to a Hydrocontrol double regulating valve
to provide both regulation of flow and differential
pressure. Traditionally, differential pressure
regulators require a small flow through a by-pass in
order for them to function correctly when
thermostatic radiator valves have closed the system
down. This is achieved by either just cracking the
valve open or having a small by-pass pipe. Under
these conditions the system endeavours to pump large
quantities of water through the by-pass but in so
doing creates unacceptable noise levels. By
designing a differential pressure device that does
not require a by-pass, Oventrop has eliminated this
problem. It was this and the overall reliability of
the Hydromat DP that prompted its acceptance by
Shepherd Engineering and consulting engineers Max
Fordham LLP.
The refurbishment involved stripping out the
majority of the original 1951 heating pipework and
the installation of a new cooling system utilising
fan coils and air handling units. The work also
included the refurbishment of the exiting main
rooftop and auxiliary plantrooms within the
building, the pipework for which was installed out
by SES.
The entire 2788-seat auditorium, with under-seat air
conditioning, has been refurbished to improve its
poor acoustics, while public space around the Hall
has been increased by some 35% and new bars,
restaurants and educational facilities have opened.
Email:
sales@oventrop.co.uk