The grounds of Colchester Football Club in Essex have not only welcomed the Club’s home fixtures throughout the course of the season but they have also played a pivotal part in the Covid-19 vaccination programme. Initially, the NHS set up a temporary tent at the Club to enable nurses and volunteers to deliver vaccines to local residents, but the decision was later made to transfer the vaccine centre to a more permanent area inside the stadium. The concourse area of the grounds was selected as the suitable site, an area which had previously been used on match day for food outlets and consequently, it did not have its own heating system. A solution was therefore needed to provide heating to this concourse area.
Local G1 Installers, Blueflame Colchester, were approached to identify and install a suitable and sustainable heating system for the vaccination centre at the Club. “Colchester Football Club are trying to be as green as possible,” explains James Mealing, director at Blueflame Colchester. “The concourse did not have its own heating system before so it made sense to install a completely new heating system to this area, independent of the rest of the stadium, that would meet the temperature requirements of the NHS while also being as green and efficient as possible.”
A renewable system featuring an Aerona³ 17kW air source heat pump was designed and installed. For this installation, the heat pump has been set up to provide heating only partnering with new radiators to ensure that the concourse area was kept warm to the desired temperature. “We also had a custom header and decoupler made for setting the correct flow rates and water volume within the system,” comments James.
The 17kW Aerona³ is a twin fan heat pump and is the largest model in Grant’s air to water heat pump range. It has an ErP rating of A+++ and is highly efficient so ideally matched to meet the heating requirements of the concourse vaccination area. Furthermore, as the unit was installed by a G1 Air Source Heat Pump Installer, which Blueflame Colchester are, the Club’s new Aerona³ heat pump also has a seven year guarantee.
“Blueflame has been selecting more and more Grant heat pumps due to their ease of installation, reliability and high SCOPs,” continues Mr Mealing. “The Aerona³ heat pump we installed at the Club is working faultlessly and we are really impressed with the end product.”
The new heat pump was installed in the early autumn and it has since been operating to ensure that the concourse area and its vaccination hub remains warm, especially through the colder months of winter.
“I feel proud to have been a part of this installation,” concludes Mr Mealing. “It has been great for Blueflame to assist not only in the efforts against climate change by installing a renewable heating system but also helping the NHS and the fight against Covid. Partnering with Grant products on this project will ensure the system is not only as efficient as possible but also reliable.”