03 September 2018
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 St Albans Cathedral | Nuaire has supplied an XBC heat recovery ventilation unit as part of an expansion and refurbishment project at St Albans Cathedral. Along with renovating its existing Chapter House, which provides specially adapted spaces designed for children and adult learning, the cathedral built a new Welcome Centre, providing accommodation and modern facilities for the cathedral congregation, visitors and staff. |
 The XBC unit was fitted under the newly elevated floor | Prior to the refurbishment, much of the crypt and first floor education spaces were naturally ventilated. However, the introduction of a new lift in the Chapter House meant that the original 1980s crypt ventilation plant was left without means to deliver heat and ventilation to the largely windowless basement space. Nuaire suggested its XBC heat recovery unit, said to be the shallowest on the market relative to air volume, to be fitted in the newly constructed elevated floor void. The XBC also has an integral condensate pump, which eliminates the need for a gravity drain or condensate drain trap. This meant it could be installed directly on top of the original 1980s sub-floor, avoiding permanent damage through drainage. The unit is fully accessible from the side and requires just 260mm for filter removal, making maintenance possible within the confined space. When the final parquet floor is installed over the newly raised floor level incorporating the access hatches, the location of the unit means that it will be almost invisible. Nuaire area sales engineer Andrew Bott, who worked with Mott MacDonald, part of the technical team for the renovation, said: “Being a listed building, we had to ensure that we proposed a unit that would leave the building relatively unchanged. The XBC heat recovery unit is well suited to overcoming all challenges within this project whilst meeting the architectural and conservation expectations.” www.nuaire.co.uk |
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