Rinnai has recently been on call to the NHS, namely to provide hot water systems for a series of ‘walk in’ centers in the North of England.
The walk in centres are part of a plan to modernise and improve NHS services, offering greater access, convenience and choice. Staffed by NHS nurses and health professionals each centre provides healthcare advice, information and treatment to residents, shoppers, commuters and visitors. Installer Adam Mitchell of A P Mitchell Building services was approached by Norland Managed Services, provider of facilities management services to Salford Primary Care Trust, to design and install hot water systems for the drop in centres in the area.
The Rinnai heavy duty condensing gas fired water heaters use two heat exchangers to capture residual heat from flue gases to pre-heat incoming fresh water, with the HDC1200i offering 105.5% net efficiency* in use and impressively delivering up to 95% thermal efficiency. The larger HDC1500i turns in 104.5% net efficiency*. These figures point to considerable ongoing energy savings when compared with non-condensing continuous flow water heaters.
The Rinnai Infinity also regulates water temperature to within +/- 1ºC via a ‘smart’ digital controller ensuring there is never any variation of temperature at the outlet even when water is drawn off elsewhere. The units have full electronic ignition, no pilot light and operate on demand only, so there is no gas consumption when the unit is idle.
“We decided on Rinnai because the infinity condensing water heaters are the best I have seen and also because I like the support we get from Rinnai’s technical department. The company is very innovative, always pushing the boundaries”
Adam Mitchell
The Infinity water heaters are also easily configured in a manifold arrangement, ensuring there will never be a shortfall of instant hot water whatever the demand. As long as electricity, water, and gas supplies are connected, hot water is available when the hot water taps are opened. According to Mitchell installation was simple and easy. “The balanced flue worked really well, and the plume kit made a significant time contribution as there was no need to take it up to the top of the building.
I was also impressed by how easy it was to guide away from windows. “The whole Rinnai system is extremely well thought out. It works extremely well right across the board from installation to commissioning. The client is extremely happy with how the Rinnai water heaters work and also with how they look and I predict they will also enjoy significant energy savings over other systems. “We first came across Rinnai continuous flow water heaters when we put them into Neston Cricket Club and AP Mitchell is now a regular Rinnai installer. We are already planning our next installation using Rinnai units which will be at Wirral Rugby Club,” concludes Mitchell.
