A high technology underfloor heating system was installed for a major new warehouse constructed at the MoD's Base Ordnance Depot at Donnington, Telford. Warmafloor (GB) Ltd installed some 30,000m of flexible underfloor pipe to create the sophisticated, zonal heating system.

Bod Donnington is a major storage base for small arms, war-like stores and communications equipment and supplies for all three of the armed services. The new warehouse provides 8,000m² of purpose built storage for these protected items. The warehouse is arranged in eight spurs, each of which has for separate heating zones, which can be independently controlled.

Using the Warmafloor CFC free system plate insulated panels were loose laid over compacted ground. The high degree of flexibility provided by Warmafloor polybutylene underfloor heating pipe allowed it to be simply clipped into position using fixings moulded to the upper surface of the insulant. Tight radius bends, readily achievable using the Warmafloor pipe product, are incorporated into the pattern of the pipe grid which is specially designed to ensure even temperature across each heating zone.

At Bod Donnington, a particular concern is to avoid the risk of the concrete floor slab cracking and potentially allowing leakage of materials into the ground below. For this reason, each slab incorporates pre-tensioned reinforcement to give added security and durability.

The underfloor installation provides a storage area free from surface and wall mounted equipment. The risk of inadvertent damage due to materials being moved within the store is eliminated and maintenance requirements are minimised.

The selection of underfloor heating provided the required temperature control at minimum cost since only low-level heat input is required to achieve the necessary levels.