Radiant heating for the Blackpool Illuminations
A new facility to produce and store the Blackpool illuminations has its heating provided by radiant heating supplied by AmbiRad. Called Blackpool Lightworks, the 11 000 m2 building has been built to house £10 million-worth of fibre optics, laser and illumination exhibits. It also houses workshops, spray booths, storage and offices. A feature of the building is its high ceilings for the creation and testing of large exhibits and lighting pieces.
In a building of this size, wall-mounted heating would not be cost efficient or powerful enough. Underfloor heating was precluded because it would have to support the weight load of a 16 t articulate lorry and over 700 t of equipment.
To overcome these problems, AmbiRad supplied five units from its Vision range, with specialist Roger Whalley Ltd appointed to complete the installation.
The heating units are installed in a U-tube herringbone configuration, with just one penetration of the building for flueing combustion projects. Fuel savings of up to 65% can be achieved compared with other types of heating system.
Blackpool Illuminations date back to 1879, with just eight electric arc lamps. Today’s illuminations are a 6-mile extravaganza.
