Turaki Primary School in Taumaranui has 16 teaching spaces, a library, a kitchen, and administration rooms. Most of the school had radiators that were heated with a coal boiler that has now failed. There are some classrooms that do not currently have radiators that needed to have them added. The current plant room for the coal failed boiler had many issues including an electricity distribution board that did not meet current electrical safety standards and plant room linings that were in poor condition and are unlikely to meet modern fire safety standards without significant remediation. There was some asbestos contamination with asbestos fibres detected in the pipe insulation and with the electrical distribution board suspected of containing asbestos.  

Due to the fact that the plant room was small and there was time-consuming demolition and remediation work required it was decided that in order to get heating in place before winter an external solution would be required. While the plant room was too small to contain an adequately sized pellet boiler and fuel store for the school heating needs, there was adequate and appropriate space outside the plant room to house an ÖkoFEN Energy Box containerised pellet boiler system. This meant that a solution could be put in place on a tighter deadline and the kids would not go cold this winter. The school is in a relatively cold region of New Zealand with winter temperatures frequently falling to minus 2°C.

Apricus delivered and installed a 128kW OkoFEN Energy Box, in a prefabricated, containerised plant room and 7-tonne pellet store, close to the existing plant room beside the existing coal delivery driveway. The pellet boiler will be connected to the existing heating distribution pipework via external, insulated, clad pipework from the Energy Box to the plant room.

The school heating pipework in the plant room was modernised and upgraded with the following:

• Removal of existing asbestos insulation around pipework, sealed at ground level
• New school heating distribution pump – Grundfos UPS65-180/2 3~ pump
• New temperature compensating mixing valve – ESBE 40mm flanged & motor
• Installation of pipe insulation
• Dosing pot for corrosion protection
• Removal of header tank and installation of expansion vessel for system pressurization
• System filling and pressurization, including RPZ backflow prevention, isolation valves, pressurization valve, expansion vessel and incoming water meter for system leak detection