When Bernard Matthews, the UK’s largest turkey producer, decided to upgrade its heating systems from LPG to a biomass solution as part of its carbon reduction and energy efficiency programme, Baxi Commercial was chosen to deliver a prefabricated packaged plant solution. The project, which started in March 2014, will see Baxi Commercial install and commission 108 boiler houses by the end of 2014.

Baxi Commercial supplied a full turnkey solution including groundworks and full M&E installation backed up with a long-term service agreement. Aside from substantial predicted fuel and carbon savings for Bernard Matthews, a major benefit is an improved environment for the birds.

George Youngs, commercial manager of Green Energy at Bernard Matthews comments: “Our existing heating set-up of LPG spot heaters was proving to be costly and ineffective, so we decided to embark on a project to reduce costs and inefficiencies through upgrading the heating system to something more sustainable.

“We’ve been pleased with Baxi Commercial’s involvement, and they have provided excellent communication and consulting throughout the entire process.

“Due to the nature of our business, it was essential that the upgrade was completed within a two-day period, allowing our production process to continue as soon as possible. Baxi Commercial successfully met this demand through the supply of Packaged Plant Solutions, which were easy to install, reducing disruption on site.

“We expect to see a substantial reduction in energy consumption from the upgrade to biomass once the project is completed at the end of the year, translating into significant carbon and cost savings.” Andy Green, technical manager at Baxi Commercial, comments: “Due to the size and type of the business, we worked very closely with Bernard Matthews to ensure that we were able to deliver a service that met their specific needs, in a timely manner.

“Through offering a prefabricated solution, we were able to complete most of the construction off-site and deliver plant rooms ready-made, enabling fast installation and reducing disruption. “Our involvement also extends into an ongoing service agreement, which will involve regular feedback on the systems to ensure they are running to optimum performance.

“Reducing carbon emissions and energy costs is a priority for the food industry and upgrading heating systems is one way to meet energy efficiency targets.” With all sites due to be completed in quarter four of 2014, both Bernard Matthews and Baxi Commercial are looking forward to realising the total savings achieved through the upgrade. The project is also able to take advantage of the RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) scheme.

Pre-fabricated heating solutions are perfect for commercial applications where downtime and budgets are limited. The concept is easy and suitable for new and existing plant rooms, as the system will be delivered fully constructed and ready to install – prefabricated systems are essentially ‘drop and connect’ solutions.

For larger industrial applications, tailored design and the flexibility of adding modules enables solutions to be connected in a variety of plant room configurations, even those with awkward access and layouts.

For more information, please visit www.baxicommercial.co.uk