Part of the £91 million refurbishment of London’s Royal Festival Hall, a Grade I listed building, included the upgrade of all the heating and cooling systems for which Oventrop supplied all the valves for the LTHW variable temperature heating circuits.

With a specification requiring a noise rating of RC15(N) in the auditorium – half that of a normal office – the selection of valves was critical so Shepherd Engineering Services(SES), the M&E contractors for the project, installed Oventrop Series F low flow thermostatic radiator valves with remote roomstat sensing for the radiant heat panels as specified by Max Fordham LLP, the consulting engineers for the project. These TRVs offer an ultrafine preset facility which makes them particularly suitable for low noise situations.

The TRVs are used in conjunction with Oventrop Hydromat differential pressure regulators linked by capillary to a Hydrocontrol double regulating valve to provide both regulation of flow and differential pressure. Traditionally, differential pressure regulators require a small flow through a by-pass in order for them to function correctly when thermostatic radiator valves have closed the system down. This is achieved by either just cracking the valve open or having a small by-pass pipe. Under these conditions the system endeavours to pump large quantities of water through the by-pass but in so doing creates unacceptable noise levels. By designing a differential pressure device that does not require a by-pass, Oventrop has eliminated this problem. It was this and the overall reliability of the Hydromat DP that prompted its acceptance by Shepherd Engineering and consulting engineers Max Fordham LLP.

The refurbishment involved stripping out the majority of the original 1951 heating pipework and the installation of a new cooling system utilising fan coils and air handling units. The work also included the refurbishment of the exiting main rooftop and auxiliary plantrooms within the building, the pipework for which was installed out by SES.

The entire 2788-seat auditorium, with under-seat air conditioning, has been refurbished to improve its poor acoustics, while public space around the Hall has been increased by some 35% and new bars, restaurants and educational facilities have opened.

Email: sales@oventrop.co.uk