Product category:
Electrical Services
News Release from: Hills Electrical and Mechanical | Subject: Animal health laboratory project
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 September 2004
High Services Spec For Animal Health
Laboratory
Hills Electrical and Mechanical has completed the installation of high specification mechanical and electrical services for the world's most advanced animal health laboratory.
The London and South East Regional Centre of Hills Electrical and Mechanical has completed the installation of high specification mechanical and electrical services for the world's most advanced animal health laboratory The services installation is valued at £2.5 million, half the total cost of the project
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 31 Oct 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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The new laboratory will be used for research into cures for a range of diseases affecting farm animals including BSE and foot and mouth disease.
Because of their highly infectious nature, containment and filtration of the air within the laboratory is essential.
Working with main contractor Dean and Dyball and building services consultancy GPJ Consulting Engineers, Hills has installed a sophisticated ventilation system designed to maintain negative pressure of up to -100Pa inside the airtight building.
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Any one of the three air handling units can provide the required minimum air flow, though in normal operation two will run in tandem.
If the 11kV mains electricity supply is lost, an 800kVA diesel standby generator can carry all essential loads including the ventilation system.
In the unlikely event of a total failure of the air handling units, a system of dampers and doors automatically seals the building.
Nuclear industry standard microbiological HEPA filters scrub both the fresh air supply and the air extracted from the laboratory to ensure no cross contamination, while all ducting is sealed with rubber O-rings to prevent air leakage within the building.
A unique feature of the new laboratory is the casting of the housings for the filters and light fittings directly into the 225mm concrete ceiling slab to guarantee an airtight seal.
Environmental conditions within the laboratory need to be constant to ensure they do not affect the results of the research, and the HVAC plant is controlled by a building management system to automatically maintain internal temperatures.
A single air to air screw chiller cools the incoming air in summer, and the site's central steam generating plant provides steam heat to warm the building in winter.
Waste is channelled under the floors to a treatment plant at one end.
There it is heated by steam to destroy all bacteria before disposal.
Everyone entering the building has to shower and change into sterile clothing, and shower again before changing back into their clothing and leaving.
The facility has been designed as an international scientific research centre, enabling overseas as well as UK scientists to conduct research.
The complex 12-month installation has gone smoothly and Hills is confident of securing future projects at the growing research facility.
"The client and the professional team have been delighted with the service they have received," says London and South East Regional Centre Manager David Gatward.
"Our team has gone the extra mile and we hope to negotiate futur.
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