With the nights and mornings getting colder and darker, it is a reminder to us all that winter is fast approaching. Although we all rely on heating and hot water on a day-to-day basis, in areas where vulnerable people reside such as care homes, these two necessities are all the more critical. Heating and hot water are vital to occupants’ health and safety and the running of these premises at large. With this in mind, which solutions can be installed to ensure Britain’s care homes are kept warm throughout the nation’s coldest months?

In a care home it is vital to ensure all heating systems are regularly serviced and maintained to prevent any issues that can result in plant failure. Heating and hot water are critical in these locations, therefore it is important to check their performance at certain intervals to assure their performance.

Newbuild care homes will have the plans in place to ensure they perform well into the future, yet it is important to remember that a large amount of the care home stock comprises older buildings where the heating systems are showing the signs of wear. In these commercial environments, replacement plant will be likely. But have businesses thought of how they are going to keep the supply going whilst the new plant is installed?

In these sites, it is worthwhile to consider temporary plant to prevent disruption to supply. If you have existing heating and hot water in a care home then temporary plant rooms or boilers should be in place in the event of any problems. Without the presence of temporary plant, you run the risk of leaving vulnerable care home residents at risk.

Furthermore, by having a disaster plan or temporary system in place, it gives the business the peace of mind that back-up is available should it become necessary. It is also worth bearing in mind that a newer system will result in a more efficient plant room that reduces carbon footprint and energy consumption generally.

But which commercial boilers are ideal for care homes? The short answer to that is the versatile AresTec, a high output modular condensing boiler range providing a flexible and efficient commercial heating solution. AresTec ranges from 150kw-900kw all with individual modules which are built in series into one boiler. This modular boiler has a high turn down ratio of 1:40, one of the largest in the commercial boiler industry. This helps to minimise energy consumption, reducing both energy costs and carbon footprint.

AresTec can also be used as temporary plant, as it has been designed to be installed outside or as mobile plant for disaster recovery or retrofit. The system also has a backup facility so if the premises’ building management system (BMS) goes offline, AresTec can take care of itself through utilising the built in HSCP controller. If this was to fail an emergency function button can be activated, which will run the boiler at 50% output. For backup and disaster recovery, Ares Tec really hits the spot.

For smaller care homes, Alpha can provide the same cover with its wall-mounted range of boilers which are ideal for the light commercial environment. Depending on the required output, Alpha can cascade up to eight 115kW boilers to provide the right amount of heating and hot water.

There are options allowing businesses to ensure the safety of vulnerable inhabitants will never be compromised. With a high-performance, energy-efficient commercial and domestic range that provides ample back-up in the event of an emergency, Alpha can help care home and healthcare facilities keep the heating on this winter.