Client: Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture building, Isle of Man
Architects: Ashley Pettit Architects
Contractor: Quiggin and Cubbon
Type of works: Knockonwood DBE, Mini Dynamic Canal trench heating
The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA), which previously occupied a number of different offices, has recently been centralised into the new £4.6 building, whichis the first in the Isle of Man to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.
The highly-sustainable government offices, based in the island’s St John’s area, were created by Ashley Pettit Architects and feature a unique design concept which involves keeping the style – interior and exterior – as natural as possible. The building services designers, March Consultants, together with the architects, selected Jaga’s Knockonwood DBE radiators in Oak for use in the offices and open-plan working areas. The Oak finish chosen is one of nine available in the Knockonwood range, and helps the radiators to harmonise with the rest of the building which features widespread use of natural materials internally and externally.
Of the 53 Knockonwood radiators installed, 20 were featured Jaga type 11 Low H2O heat exchangers and were sized 1400mm long x 550mm high each giving an output of 1564 Watts.
The remaining 33 radiators are based on Jaga type 6 Low H2O heat exchangers and are sized 550mm high and vary from 800mm long to 1400mm long.
In addition to their looks, the Knockonwood DBE radiators were chosen because the heating system is fed from biomass boiler operating at a low flow and return temperature and Knockonwood DBE radiators can quickly and efficiently heat a room even at flow temperatures as low as 38 °C. Further evidencing the environmental credentials of the new building, the woodchip for the boiler is grown, harvested, chipped and burned on-site by DEFA.
The large, glazed reception area is also fitted with four 2,5m long Jaga Mini Dynamic Canal trench heating, which were also selected with grille finish in Oak to continue the outdoor-style effect.
David Ronan, director of finance and corporate services at DEFA, is highly pleased with the Jaga products: “The planning for our new headquarters has been in progress for a number of years so it’s great to finally see the end product. We have a fantastic building and the Jaga products complement the design concept in terms of style and sustainability as well as providing a very efficient heating system.”
Michael Hodgson, Associate at March Consultants, said: “Jaga was ideal for the DEFA building, especially the DBE feature – the offices are not always fully occupied during normal nine-five hours as staff are frequently in and out on site visits, so we saw most heating systems – those which need to be switched on first thing and take a while to cool down afterwards – as inefficient, wasteful and expensive. The fact that these units can be switched on and instantly provide heat is highly beneficial.