UK's Largest Ever Underfloor Heating Installation

Edited by the Buildingtalk editorial team May 28, 2004

Warmafloor (GB) Ltd has completed the country's largest ever underfloor heating installation.

Calling for some 60 kilometres of pipe, the work has been undertaken for Airbus in the wing equipping area of its new Aerostructures Assembly and Manufacturing Centre - known as the 'West Factory' - in Broughton, North Wales.

The West Factory is being used to assemble the wings for the new Airbus A380 555-seater double-decker aircraft, as well as other manufacturing activity.

'Equipping' involves the wings being fitted with fuel and hydraulic systems in an area of the Factory which is 300 metres long, 52 metres wide with a peak height of 19 metres.

The first wings for the A380 are set to leave the West Factory within the next few months, with the aircraft scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2005.

Underfloor heating was the natural choice for the wing equipping area, providing a significantly more cost-effective solution than any alternative heating system.

The Warmafloor installation, using Hep2O Underfloor Heating Pipe from Hepworth Plumbing Products, is laid in each of the six equipping bays, with 10 heating zones in each bay.

The temperature gradient created by underfloor installations ensures heat is concentrated at 'working level' rather than calling for excessive energy input to heat the roof space.

The zonal design similarly enables heat to be concentrated in those parts of the building being used for production at any one time.

When the factory is operating at full capacity the system must provide a comfortable environment for the hundreds of aircraft workers in the wing equipping area.

Despite the massive scale of the building, the underfloor heating installation can maintain ambient temperatures of 18 degrees C in the depths of winter by inputting water to the heating grid at 50 degrees C, bringing an estimated energy saving over alternative heating approaches of some 50 per cent.

This will translate into several thousands of pounds in annual energy cost savings.

Despite the scale of the project, it proved possible to complete the work against a demanding time schedule.

Explains Mike Cooke of Mechanical and Electrical Services Contractors Haden Young: "The sheer size of the development represented a significant challenge.

However, the design and installation skills of Warmafloor combined with the benefits of underfloor heating to enable the fast-track programme to be completed readily on time." Opting for underfloor heating also contributes to maximising available floor space, and minimising maintenance since there is no wall mounted equipment in the assembly building.

The West Factory, together with its tools and jigs has cost ?350 million.