New boilers deliver fine performance for theatre
The new Marlow Theatre in Canterbury has a 36% larger effective area than the old theatre but has little more than half the gas consumption. This feat was largely achieved by replacing six Hamworthy UR atmospheric boilers from the 1980s with six Hamworthy Purewell VariHeat 110 kW cast-iron modular condensing boilers.
The old Marlowe Theatre was created out of a former cinema and had 1000 seats. The new development comprises a 1200-seat auditorium, a smaller second auditorium, bar and restaurant, amenities and service areas.
Philip Kiss, building-services engineering with Canterbury County Council, explains, ‘Compared to 2005, the consumption has fallen from 212 to 80 kWh/m2 of floor area. That’s a 62% saving.
‘Despite a 36% increase in effective area to be heated by the boilers, the annual meter reading has almost halved from around 760 MWh to 400 MWh. There is a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions.’
The new boilers provide heating for the 1200-seat theatre via heating coil and air-handling units in the auditorium. They are also the indirect heat source for a calorifier to supply domestic hot water for showers and taps. The council has a building-management system that controls the whole building.
