Bespoke Solution for East Midlands Airport

A complete refurbishment of the British Midland maintenance hangar at East Midlands Airport provided an opportunity to review the heating requirements of the 5,600m² building. For many years, the hangar had been equipped with 12 warm air heaters that were inadequate to meet the heating needs of the building. However, the structure of the building presented several challenges in the design of a new heating system.

 

First, the entire front wall of the hangar opens up to four times a day to allow British Midlands’ Boeing 737s and Airbus A321s in and out for essential maintenance work. The influx of cold external air each time the doors open is considerable.

 

Second, the building has a 20 metre high cantilevered roof which is incapable of bearing the weight of conventional roof or ceiling-mounted heaters.

 

With no mains gas supply on the airport complex, oil-fired heaters were required.

 

Taking into account the structural and heating requirements of the building, Reznor designed a bespoke system that effectively warms the interior while counteracting the influx of cold air when the doors are opened.

 

Seven floor-standing oil fired heaters, linked to two air handling units, were installed at the back of the hangar. High level primary ducting leads from the air handling units and up over the main structural beams to secondary ducting. Warm air is fed along the ducting to plenum boxes mounted at roof height. The boxes are fitted with Novojet air distribution nozzle systems.

 

Adjustable dampers installed in the duct work direct the air to wherever it is most needed. Positioned directly over the doors, the Novojet nozzles can be adjusted to supply variable volumes of warm air into the building and/or across the doorway. When the doors are closed, the warm air is directed 60 per cent into the working area and 40 per cent over the doors. When the doors open, the dampers adjust to blow all the air across the doorway, creating an air curtain to keep out external air.

 

The flexibility of the Reznor system ensures that comfort temperatures of 20°C are maintained within the building, whether the doors are open or closed.

 

The hangar has capacity for up to three aeroplanes at any one time. It was divided into three zones, each with a separate heating system and its own door control, making energy management and efficient control of energy usage much easier in such a large volume building.