Douglas Delabie graduates at Oxford Brookes University

Saturday 3rd April 2010

"Our products were selected for their durability, easy installation and low maintenance. Water savings were a significant consideration for this project too, because of the large number of end users and potentially high water wastage through conventional showers and taps," comments Bob Purdom,Douglas Delabie's commercial director.

Background

Oxford Brookes University is a premier learning and teaching institution with an outstanding research record in the academic city of Oxford.Acknowledged as the UK's leading modern university, it has a long tradition of academic excellence.

It datesfrom 1865 with the foundation of the Oxford School of Art, which merged and grew to become today's university.

In 1992 the then Oxford Polytechnic became Oxford Brookes University, naming itself after John Henry Brookes, first Principal of the Schools of Technology, Art and Commerce.

Need

The installation of Douglas Delabie water saving shower room products was part of a three-phase project for new student accommodation at Oxford Brookes University, which is undertaking a programme of extensive campus redevelopment.

Solution

Required washing fittings had to be easy-to-use and durable to withstand extensive student use, while providing significant water and energy savings.

To meet this need, Avance Elite shower valve and kit units, Tempostop self-closing taps and integral flow regulators were specified for around 176 showers and 352 taps per phase.

Specialist POD manufacturer Off Site Solutions installed the Douglas Delabie products into shower room 'pods'.

These units were produced with wash-basin, shower and WC ready-prepared off-site,allowing each pod to be 'dropped-in' on-site by the contractor for ease-of-installation, providing labour and time saving benefits.

Result

Installation of Douglas Delabie products avoided significant potential water wastage by large numbers of student end users, ensuring substantial water and energy savings.

Pre-fitted into pods meant potential onsite costs were reduced and product robustness ensured low maintenance.

About the Avance Elite

Douglas Delabie changed the regulated water flow of its Avance Elite thermostatic shower mixing valve from 10 litres/min to nine litres/min, so qualifying the product for the Water Technology List criteria.

Developed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and HM Revenue and Customs, the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) Scheme for Water Technologies benefits companies by providing tax breaks.

The scheme enables businesses to claim 100% first year capital allowances on investments in technologies/products encouraging sustainable water use.

Businesses can now write off the whole cost of their investment against their taxable profits of the period during which they make the investment.

Bob Purdom says:

"The ECA scheme brings many resulting benefits.

Through tax breaks, the allowances encourage businesses to invest in water saving technologies.

With water usage doubling during the last 20 years, such initiatives to promote water efficiency amongst commercial users are to be welcomed.

"With Avance Elite, our company has been at the forefront of developing high quality shower fittings combined with water efficiency for several years.

Our product modification shows we're continuing to take the water sustainability issue most seriously, while ensuring product performance."

The Avance Elite is the ideal choice for a single point shower application.

• A high performance unit, it's efficient and durable.
• It's a unique product suitable for all UK systems as one product fits all.
• Its nine litre per minute flow regulator ensures high performance showering and effective water utilisation and cost savings.
• The adjustable swivel inlet elbows are a distinctive feature. They make the unit easy to install with flexibility to accommodate building tolerance, so it's ideal for retrofit applications.

Its attractive, contemporary design, in a chrome finish, means it's suitable for houses, hotels, student halls of residence, healthcare applications, homes for the elderly, sports/leisure facilities.

With recessed or exposed fittings options, the product can be used for vented/unvented systems and combi boilers, offering flexibility and easy specification.

The Avance Elite works on high and low pressure “ TMV3 certified, fail-safe temperature control is assured.

Single control operation means unit is easy-to-use, while maximum temperature limitation ensures total safety, even in high-risk applications.

Serviceable cartridge enables simple, low cost maintenance.

The centres are fully adjustable to suit most retrofit applications.

About Tempostop

Douglas Delabie's Tempostop basin tap is even more water-efficient as its flow rate is now pre-set to just four litres per minute.

Purpose-designed for intensive use in public places, this basin tap's pre-set flow-rate and automatic shut-off achieves 70% water and energy savings - and the installer can adjust without dismounting the mechanism or cutting off the water (Delabie patented).

The anti-blocking version, Tempostop AB, offers anti-vandalism features including reinforced fixing and an innovative device, which eliminates the risk of the tap being 'blocked' in the 'on' position.

With a chrome plated solid brass body and reinforced fixing, the unit opens by pressing the push button, or operating the lever turns it on.

Featuring automatic shut-off without hand contact, it opens smoothly and runs without splashing.

Easy and fast to install, this basin tap provides excellent water savings, and is ideal for intensive use in commercial buildings, schools, universities, sport and leisure centres, caravan parks, secure establishments.