Kestrel Mechanical on site for care home with Rinnai new hot water delivery systems

Kestrel Mechanical Services of Sevenoaks, Kent, has recently completed a complete refit of hot water heating systems at a well-known care home in the South East of England.

Kestrel has installed two Rinnai HDC 1500i on Natural Gas and included the unique scale inhibitor protection system. Previously the hot water systems delivery was provided by a whole set of satellite domestic boilers dotted all over the site.

The building is a stunning villa which is a converted private residence that’s been modernised to the highest standards of comfort and practicality. It offers a delightful 50-room residential and nursing home set in three-and-a-half acres of beautiful gardens near the north Kent coast.

The home is made up of two separate buildings that provide very specialist care. Both have the benefit of access to the glorious landscaped gardens – complete with conservatory and patio area.

The care home aims to provide as comprehensive a range of care as possible, so can offer 24-hour convalescent, respite, palliative and frail elderly nursing care.

Regular and stimulating activities are the key for social interaction and general well-being, and that’s why there is a packed schedule of fun activities to do.

A reliable hot water heating delivery system was needed to replace the tangle of boiler units spread over the site.

For Kestrel Julian Ringrose said, “Our brief was to make the hot water delivery system work at an optimal level of efficiency. We chose the Rinnai 1500i units for a whole variety of reasons – reliable & continuous flow of useable hot water, safe temperature water distribution at all tap and shower points, overall energy efficiency and ease of installation plus minimal ongoing maintenance costs. Hot water is vital to the wellbeing of all residents, so we needed to get it right with the right product and Rinnai was the right choice.”

Water temperature is pre-set through easy-to-use built in digital controls, eliminating the risk of scalding and potentially eradicating the need for thermostatic mixing valves. Water can be used simultaneously at several points of delivery with no loss of heat.

The Rinnai HDC 1500i range is designed for use directly off the mains, with no need for large, ungainly and energy inefficient storage vessels -and is capable of delivering in excess of 780 litres per hour at 65 degrees Celsius, therefore ensuring water temperatures ideal for preventing legionella proliferation.

Eco-labelling of products offers transparency to specifiers and end users in a clear and simple guide when sourcing the most energy efficient hot water heating units. And so, the fact that Rinnai maintains ‘A’ rated Eco-labels on all its units speaks volumes for the company’s manufacturing process and stance on supplying only the highest efficiency units to the UK market. Rinnai products also meet and exceed the requirements of the Building Regulations Part L (fuel and power) and with these bespoke system arrangements they can offer G3 and ACOP L8 best practice too.

Any possibility of Legionella breeding is minimised as Rinnai units have no storage and can be cited close to the outlet and therefore limiting the environment for bacteria production. The Rinnai Infinity series HDC1500i/e Low NOx is capable of delivering in excess of 2000 litres per hour. It has efficiencies of up to 107% and can realistically claim to be one of the most efficient hot water heating units of its kind available in UK. The HDC1500i/e Low NOx is an on-demand style hot water heating unit – suitable for natural gas or LPG – and it has NO storage cylinder. This means that there is no needless waste of energy from constantly reheating a stored body of water for when there is demand. Energy is only used on a Rinnai unit when there is demand – simple as that.

There is a big potential of annualised fuel saving costs with a HDC1500i low NoX unit – these costs can be minimised next to any comparable type of storage water heater, such as gas direct fired storage water heater or indirect cylinder system connected to the heating boiler. Contact Rinnai for professional CPDS and studies on this topic.

Rinnai Infinity HDC1500i Low NOx can boost a modulation range of 59.5kW to 2.8kW, and operate at a flow rate of as low as 1.5l/min. Thanks to this high modulation range, the Rinnai units ensure that the optimum amount of energy is used to heat the water, minimising waste and maximising system efficiencies.

The HDC1500i low NoX is extremely lightweight and easy to handle at just 31 kg.

By developing this holistic condensing technology initiative, Rinnai offers a simple, viable, cost effective, and energy efficient solution to any consumer needs for hot water.