Continuous flow water heaters in the revolutionary new WX Series, recently introduced by Andrews, have been installed in an independent hotel in Salisbury. They solved the problem of how to provide all the benefits of unlimited quantities of economically produced hot water on demand without taking up any internal building space.
The Grasmere House Hotel, originally a fine example of a Victorian family residence, has just got bigger and has considerably increased its hot water load by adding to the building a new wing of 15 en-suite bedrooms. Mr Naug, the hotelier, explained, "A plentiful hot water supply is one of the key comfort essentials for our guests however, I did not want to give up any more of the newly acquired space to services plant than absolutely necessary.
We had got rid of the old style boiler and calorifier system in the original building a long time ago, separating the central heating and hot water load by installing two Andrews direct gas-fired unvented Hi-Flo storage water heaters. This immediately reduced our energy consumption sufficient to make a welcome difference to the heating bills and I was considering the same system for the new extension. However, the promise of generating all the hot water that could be needed at any time just as economically and from an externally wall mounted installation seemed too good to miss and I decided to give the new WX technology a try.”
Popular with business guests and offering conferencing facilities this is also a tourist hotel and the new extension will enable entire coach parties to be accommodated. Heating Installer Mat Cook recounts, "Being a relatively new concept in the UK, I had not installed this type of appliance before but there was no doubt the continuous flow capability of the WX water heaters would more than adequately meet the simultaneous demand from 15 showers. For reasons of economy gas remained the preferred energy source and although high recovery storage water heaters could have met the demand, given the space constraints, even that small amount of stored water was not an option."
These continuous flow appliances achieve 89% efficiency, have a modulating burner so there is no standby heat loss and auto ignition means there are no running costs when the unit is idle. Safety in use is assured by accurate temperature settings from 37ºC to 95ºC while the lack of stored water inhibits scaling and reduces the risk of legionella bacteria forming.
All Andrews WSC/WX units are compact and lightweight for easy siting and installation, the WX 42 and 56 models being specifically designed for external installation without the need for further weather protection. The casing is impervious to the elements and an integral anti-freeze device activates at 2ºC.
Mat Cook explains, "The system designed for the Grasmere House Hotel comprised five WX 42 water heaters installed on manifold packs with three units and two units respectively. What is more, these external units require no flue, a further benefit in the development of the Grasmere House Hotel as the new extension is sympathetic to the original construction which is in deep red brick with attractive pointed finials on the roof gables.”
