Construction

Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, wanted to increase its standby power capability to support a purpose-built facility for Paediatrics, Women’s Health, Pathology and Pharmacy. Additional standby power was required not only for the new wards but also to bring some non-essential services, such as lighting, onto the backup system.

Space was limited. The plant room was only 73m square, and already housed other equipment.

The work (which included an extension to the building) had to be carried out without any loss in standby power availability to the hospital and with as little disturbance as possible to the patients.

Dale’s Solution

The plant room was modified to accommodate the new equipment and meet the additional airflow/acoustic requirements

An 800 kVA diesel generator was replaced with two x 1500 kVA standby diesel generator units, 2 x generator synchronising control systems and 1 x PLC and PMS for a common section to oversee the operation of both generators units and the emergency switchboard

The original bulk tank was removed and replaced with a fully bunded 17,000 litre, totally enclosed tank to prevent diesel spillage leaking into the ground

1,000 litre daily service fuel tanks were added with twin skinned pipework and fuel transfer system

A bespoke solution was designed to mount the exhaust silencers and flue system externally on the roof of the building. The silencers and flue system were made from stainless steel to avoid corrosion in their external location.

Our Result

• Smooth migration from old to new system with no loss of power

• Increased attenuation to achieve 75 dBA at 1 metre (with both generator units running) to minimise noise levels in the plant room which was located close to the new wards

• Acoustic louvres provided sufficient airflow to prevent the generators from overheating

• Routine plant maintenance training provided for hospital staff