Spirotech first choice for Strathclyde

Project: Strathclyde University | Place: Glasgow (United Kingdom)

The University of Strathclyde’s building maintenance requirements have been streamlined thanks to a long-term commitment to eradicate contamination from all of its heating and cooling systems in partnership with Spirotech.

For the last seven years, Andy McWatt, Senior Mechanical Engineer at the University of Strathclyde, has specified only Spirotech product across all the university’s existing and new systems, as a result of excellent experiences with the brand; namely the transformation of the heating and cooling systems serving the university’s SIBS Robertson building.

“The SIBS building is a very sensitive area of our prestigious Biomedical unit and one where accurate temperature control is vital,” explains McWatt. “In this particular building, we were having real issues with debris blocking the re-heat battery control valves, which was made worse by the fact that access to the valves is difficult.

The installation of Spirotech’s SpiroVent Superior in 2008 marked the beginning of the partnership with the company, which resulted in improved system functionality across the site and the wholesale removal of contamination issues across both historic and new building stock.

Andy McWatt, Senior Mechanical Engineer at the University of Strathclyde
“Oddly, the only system on the whole estate that gives us consistent problems now is one that has been heavily dosed in the past”
Andy McWatt, Senior Mechanical Engineer, University of Strathclyde

“We are extremely proactive when it comes to the design and specification of our systems, and we recognise the value in taking a long-term viewpoint which focuses on system health and functionality, rather than being driven by cost in the short term.”

“We’ve shown with our work here at Strathclyde the value of adopting the approach we do; focusing on air removal through degassing and with a low chemical usage program. Oddly, the only system on the whole estate that gives us consistent problems now is one that has been heavily dosed in the past”.

70%

Andy McWatt, Senior Mechanical Engineer, University of Strathclyde

“With Spirotech, what you get is a fit and forget solution, which is why we’ve specified the product across 70% of our systems.”

Achievements:

  • Improved system functionality
  • Wholesale removal of all system contamination
  • Reduced requirement for system dosing
  • Improved system lifetime
  • A significant reduction in maintenance requirements

Products used

 

Spirotech products used at the Strathclyde University