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Making a debut in Pontypool01 January 2008When Pontypool Leisure Centre closed in September 2004, to allow refurbishment and the addition of many new facilities, the centre’s ageing electrical installation was completely removed and replaced with a system that had hitherto not been used in the UKIn order to provide better leisure facilities for those living in the Pontypool area, the decision was taken in 2003 to completely refit and refurbish Pontypool Leisure Centre which would re-open as the Pontypool Active Learning Centre at a cost of £6.85 million. The work would require the centre to be closed for almost two years and would see the installation of a state-of-the-art fitness suite with customised equipment for people with disabilities; a health suite; treatment rooms for massage, physiotherapy and alternative therapies.
Keir Western of Newport was appointed to oversee the project, with Hoare Lea and Partners of Cardiff as consultant and MITIE Engineering Services of Cardiff as the main M&E contractor.
So extensive was the scope of the project that it would only be possible to achieve the required results by completely stripping the inside of the building and this work commenced in October 2004. Since this meant that none of the existing electrical installation could be reused, MITIE Engineering, working in conjunction with Keir Western and Hoare Lea, invited tenders for new equipment.
Key requirements for this equipment were that it should be modern, reliable, flexible and capable of straightforward extension in the future should this prove necessary. In addition, extensive capabilities for energy monitoring were required as an aid to the Centre not only in meeting its obligations under Part L of the Building Regulations, but also in minimising its running costs and environmental impact. Finally, it was essential that the electrical equipment should be very competitively priced.
After completing an in-depth evaluation process, Hoare Lea’s engineers on the advice of MITIE Engineering decided that the Centre’s new main distribution switchboard should be a Moeller Electric xEnergy product and that other distribution equipment should also be supplied by Moeller Electric.
When making their decision, the engineers at MITIE Engineering were fully aware that this would be the first xEnergy installation in the UK. Nevertheless, they were sufficiently convinced by the merits of the system and by its track record in installations in Europe to have complete confidence in the product’s attractive and versatile design.
The xEnergy system is fully modular and allows switchboards to be assembled easily and cost effectively. Its construction supports a wide range of intelligent combinations of components, which means that users save time, space and money.
The xEnergy switchboard system consists of modules that are type tested to BS EN 60439-1. These can have internal separation up to Form 4 and can be configured to comply fully with national and regional installation requirements, including those of the UK. Incoming and coupler sections can be equipped with circuit breakers rated at up to 4,000A, while the outgoing sections can accommodate circuit breakers rated at up to 630A.
Control compartments and empty compartments can also be incorporated as required, making it easy to provide space for ancillary components such as motor starters, power factor correction modules and metering systems, as well as making convenient provision for future expansion.
While switchboards in the xEnergy range can be supplied with busbars rated up to 4,000A, they are also available with 1,600A and 3,200A bars, providing economical alternatives for smaller projects such as the one at Pontypool. Dave Griffiths, senior electrical engineer at MITIE Engineering Services takes up the story:
“There were a number of factors which weighed in favour of xEnergy. The versatility meant that we could specify front and rear access, as required by this project, and a compact overall assembly, which would make good use of the space available on the site. Finally, of course, price had to be considered, and we were delighted to find that the Moeller Electric xEnergy board was also competitively priced.”
To assist with the planning and design of the xEnergy board, MITIE Engineering used the new Moeller Electric ConFix configuration and price calculation software package. The configuration for the Pontypool project is a four section plinth-mounted floor-standing board with overall dimensions of 2m high x 3.5m wide x 0.6m deep. The board is fitted with a Moeller Electric IZM 1,600A air circuit breaker incomer, complemented by 1,600A busbars that have a fault rating of 50kA for one second (a BS EN 60439-1 requirement). All outgoing circuits have metering facilities and are catered for by NZM moulded case circuit breakers in a variety of ratings, including 150 units rated at 100A.
For convenience and economy of shipping, the board was delivered flat packed and was assembled by local panel builder, CHS. This process proved to be fast and straightforward and from the date the board was ordered to its delivery ready for installation to the Pontypool site, took just six weeks.
“The implementation of this project was very smooth and easy,” recalls Mr Griffiths. “Although we did, from time to time, need a little support from the engineers at Moeller Electric, as xEnergy is a new product that neither we nor anyone else in the UK had used before. This support was always readily available, and the minor problems we encountered were quickly solved. During installation, we found the xEnergy board to be easy to work with and, considering how compact it is, there is a reasonable amount of space available in the cableways. The cable gland arrangements are particularly good.”
As well as the xEnergy main board, MITIE Engineering also fitted standard Moeller Electric distribution boards throughout the Centre. In most cases, these are 12- and 24-way triple-pole and neutral types, although a number of single-pole and neutral boards are used for supplies to the fire alarms and similar special applications.
“We were delighted with the smooth progress of the electrical works on our site,” said Bob Pinney, manager of the new Pontypool Active Learning Centre. “The electrical installation is always one of the last phases of a project so any hiccups, however minor, can have a big effect on the completion date. It’s very satisfying to have state-of-the-art electrical equipment that genuinely puts us in control at all times. Not only that, but in a recent carbon footprint audit and report, I’m pleased to say that we were rated as ‘excellent’. I have no doubt at all that the Moeller Electric equipment, and in particular the xEnergy switchboard, made a significant contribution to helping us achieve this rating.” Contact Details and Archive...Most Viewed Articles... |
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