Plate heat exchangers update hotel DHW system
The surges in demand for hot water at the Old Bank Hotel in Oxford are now handled by a Stokvis Econoplate plate heat exchanger and a pair of 500 l stainless-steel buffer vessels, installed to replace direct-fired water heaters. The system was specified and installed by H&E Engineers, a specialist in maintenance services based in nearby Kidlington. This hotel has 42 luxury bedroom suites.
Ian Hardwick, who was contract manager for the work at the Old Bank Hotel, commented, ‘We have installed a number of the Econoplates, along with other Stokvis equipment, over a period of 10 years or more, and have come to rely on the manufacturer for its level of service, design support and response to urgent situations.
‘In this instance, we were asked to look at improvements that could be made to the hot-water services which would be a lot more efficient, plus there was the problem concerning the size of the old direct-fired heaters. They were too big to remove from the plant room, so they had to be cut up, and we wanted something much more manageable and easy to install — which is why we went to Stokvis.’
