Packaged plant room for under-pitch heating at Aston Villa FC

The brief

A self-contained heat source for the pitch

Under-pitch heating keeps the playing surface above freezing. Boilers heat a water and glycol mix, pumps circulate it through pipework below the turf, and soil sensors call for heat. The plant has to perform on the coldest nights of the year.

The requirement was a large commercial heat source built as an external plant room, rather than plant fitted out piece by piece on site. One team took responsibility for specification, drawings and installation, so layout and connections were resolved before the build.

The build

The plant room was built under cover in the workshop on a steel base and frame. The boilers, pump sets, low-loss header, vessels and flanged flow and return pipework were installed in the frame, then the unit was clad in insulated panels with louvred double doors.

A cascade of commercial boilers gives efficient part-load operation and resilience: if one boiler is out for service, the rest carry the load.

On site

The unit was delivered by lorry-mounted HIAB crane, set down and levelled, then connected to the gas supply, heating circuits and electrical supply. The gas installation was tested and purged, and each boiler was commissioned with the cascade controls before handover.