Case Study 1:
FET Testing a Historic Listed Building
Gently Does It… Making a 17th Century Listed Building electrically compliant. Managed by English Heritage, Audley End House is an early 17th-century, listed stately home just outside Saffron Walden in Essex. Listed building specialists, Woolgar Electrical, won the tender to sensitively carry out the Fixed Electrical Testing (FET) in a timely manner
ABOUT ENGLISH HERITAGE
English Heritage manages over 400 sites which are open to the public which receive 11 million visitors per year. It is the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment.
Officially known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, they are an executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
THE CHALLENGE
In 2012 Robert Tompkins, the newly appointed Buildings Manager, was charged with ensuring that Audley End House met all the IEE codes of practice and British Standards, so he put the project out to tender. Woolgar Electrical, an existing English Heritage supplier, successfully tendered and was charged with making the building compliant.
The main challenge was to sensitively apply the various electrical regulations to a large historic, 17th century listed building and come up with appropriate solutions within budget and on schedule.
One of the key issues was to interpret the IEE codes of practice and British Standards to ensure that the unnecessarily rigid application of the regulations did not cause unnecessary upheaval to this historically important building.
THE SOLUTION
To start Woolgar undertook a thorough analysis investigating the building’s current electrical infrastructure before revisiting the relevant regulation’s requirements. Working closely with the English Heritage team to ensure that British Standards and other safety and standard issues were adhered to in a common sense way.
After careful assessment Woolgar Electrical was able to implement the FET whilst addressing the challenges, for example, wired in MICC (Mineral) with the scope of the testing set at 100%. They then detailed their findings and recommendations in a report.
After the completion of the FET Woolgar Electrical were then charged with putting right the Safety issues detailed in their report. This 3 month project included installing a range of fuse boxes, and where significant electrical upgrades were required, they were either carefully hidden or were sympathetic to the original, or so understated they made little visual impact.
OUTCOMES
The FET process was delivered on schedule and the electrical issues identified were resolved in sympathetic, efficient manner that did justice to the historically significant building.
Key Benefits:
Peace of mind knowing the building is now electrically safe
Stress-free project delivered on schedule and on budget by specialist
Reduced risk from a liability view-point, as the building is now compliant to British standards
Case Study 2:
Upgrading to Energy Efficient LED Lighting in Communal Areas
Sandford Rise in Sandy consists of 5 small blocks of flats which are managed by the Aragon Housing Association. Woolgar Electrical, their mid term contractors, were charged with specifying and installing a new lighting solution in the communal areas that was not only cost effective and vandal proof but was also sympathetic to the building design
ABOUT ARAGON HOUSING ASSOCIATION
Aragon Housing Association part of Grand Union Housing Group manages over 6,500 homes across Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Luton and Northampton. With assets of £270 million and an annual turnover of £30 million, it is one of the fastest growing ‘not-for-profit’ landlords in southern England.
THE CHALLENGE
In December 2012 Michelle Davis, the Projects Manager at Aragon Housing Association needed to make safe the multiple communal stairwells at Sandford Rise. The existing lighting was over 3 decades old and not working as it should, thereby creating a hazard for residents during the long winter nights.
The challenge was to find a suitable replacement lighting solution that met all their requirements. It had be vandal proof and cost effective with a robust sensor control system. In addition, the replacement wiring had to be in white PVC conduit, so it was sympathetic to the building design. Also where possible it had to be hidden behind vertical rainwater pipes.
THE SOLUTION
To start Woolgar undertook a thorough analysis investigating the current lighting infrastructure whilst considering Aragon’s requirements.
They recommended ASD Horizon LED units with a built in dusk to dawn photocell. This robust LED lighting system uses up to 85% less energy with the LED lights lasting up to 20 times longer than the incandescent bulbs they were replacing. In addition the new suggested light fittings had a built in emergency back up for power failures.
The installation was initially delayed by freezing winter conditions which made the conduits brittle and difficult to mould. Once the temperature rose, work could resume and the new wiring was carefully installed to minimise its visual impact.
The control motion sensor system was set for safe entry and egress between dusk to dawn.
OUTCOMES
A new ASD Horizon LED system was installed. This robust lighting system not only used LED which decreased energy consumption but the motion sensor element meant that the lights only went on when the tenants were using the communal areas during entry and egress thus further reducing their energy bills.
Also because the LED lights installed last up to 20 times longer than the traditional incandescent bulbs they were replacing their ongoing maintenance bills were lower.
Michelle Davis says… 'I can highly recommend Woolgar as I was happy with the installation of the LED lights at Sandford Rise. Woolgar were very helpful, offering practical advice on the design and various product options available. The tenants now enjoy cost effective, dusk to dawn sensor controlled lighting enhancing their safety in the communal areas.
Key Benefits:
Savings on both energy and maintenance bills as the new system uses significantly less energy and the LED lights need replacing less often.
Reduced risk from a liability view-point, communal areas are now lit from dawn to dusk with emergency back up during power failures.
Peace of mind from receiving expert, practical advice from a trusted supplier.
Case Study 3:
DEVI Underfloor Heating
Hassle Free Underfloor Heating Repairs... In March 2013 Mrs F, contacted Woolgar, via their website, for a quote to fix her broken under floor heating. It had been temperamental since they had moved into the property the previous year, consistently producing too much heat for their home. Then, after a power cut, it stopped working all together. They did not have any paperwork on the system and were unsure how long it had been in situ or who had installed it
OVERVIEW
Woolgar repairs Devi underfloor home heating system on time and on budget.
THE CHALLENGE
The challenge was to find out exactly what was wrong, establish whether it was worth repairing and determining what would be involved. Woolgar responded to her initial email inquiry with a fact finding telephone call to gather more information about the system and the fault.
Woolgar find that the most common issues are either faulty controllers or a break in the element (caused by overheating or poor installation). In this case it was a failed controller
THE SOLUTION
Having established the system model an email was sent detailing cost estimates and the amount of time required to repair the fault.
A mutually convenient date was arranged. To keep costs down Woolgar scheduled multiple client visits in the same area on the same day. On arrival the engineer undertook a thorough diagnosis to confirm that it was indeed the 550 controller that had failed.
The 550 controller was upgraded to a new, easy to use wireless controller with a touch screen. After the new controller was installed and set up the engineer spent 15 minutes with Mrs F explaining how it worked and how to get the best from the system finding the balance between comfort and cost.
OUTCOMES
The underfloor heating was repaired with minimal fuss at a reasonable fee. The client was pleased with the outcome… 'We were delighted with service and can highly recommend Woolgar for DEVI repairs. Their price transparency and professionalism were appreciated as well as the friendly, courteous manner of the engineer who sorted out the problem.’
Key Benefits:
Savings on their energy bill now that the controls are set correctly.
Adjustable heating levels operational.
Peace of mind from receiving expert, practical advice from a trusted supplier.
