New research from Totaljobs has revealed that one in three employers have invested in their work space with the aim of promoting wellbeing and enhancing employee efficiency.
Showers and washing areas topped the list of office facilities provided by employers, with 27% of workers benefitting from these.
The study also found that a quarter of employers are planning an office refurbishment in the next year, demonstrating the importance placed on office-space investment. An important pre-requisite for most wellness services is hot water so it’s important for building managers to consider the impact of these facilities on a hot water system.
Dan Martindale, sales director at Andrews Water Heaters, said: “It’s great to see employers introducing perks to promote wellness but facilities managers need to understand how this will affect utilities such as hot water.
“Introducing facilities such as showers and extra washrooms into an existing office space can put unprecedented pressure on a building’s hot water system. Therefore, building managers should review their current hot water requirements and look at upgrading their systems to avoid high energy costs.
“When conducting an assessment, it’s important to establish not only the number of demand points, outlet temperature and required flow rates. The basin capacity, length of the peak period and number of fills during this time should also be considered. These factors dictate the size and type of water heater best suited.”
Dan continued: “Installing a separate, dedicated water heater to cater to the hot water demand generally provides lower running costs, energy consumption and carbon emissions because the hot water energy load can be more suitably matched to the water heater output.
“On top of this, since water is heated from a low mains temperature (at a supply temperature of around 10ºC and heating up to approximately 60ºC), high levels of condensing can be achieved, contributing to further savings.
“A consequence of more hot water usage is increased energy bills, but designing the correct heating system for the building ensures that heating costs don’t quickly spiral out of control and will deliver the performance and efficiency that is required as the boom in health and wellness continues apace.”
PIC CAP: Dan Martindale