Terminal 5 - Overview
The £4.3 billion Terminal 5 development at Heathrow was one of the most exciting developments and we were chosen to bring our three decades of experience to the project, installing the new district heating network.
London Heathrow Airport
Airport Heat Networks
London Heathrow Airport is the busiest airport in both the UK and Europe, handling over 80 million passengers per year. Find out how we reconfigured an existing heat network at terminal 2, and created a new one for terminal 5, all whilst over 1,000 flights per day take off or land.
What we’ve achieved with this project
10,877
tonnes of carbon saved per year5km
of pipework installed£4.3m
contract valueThe challenge
London Heathrow needed to expand to increase both terminal and airfield capacity, and ultimately ease congestion.
The new Terminal 5 was designed to cater for 35m passengers per year, which would make it the busiest terminal in the airport, and was to be the largest free standing structure in the UK.
BAA began construction in 2002, and as they are committed to reducing greenhouse gases at their seven airports, they wanted to make it as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible. This led to the desire to invest in energy efficient technologies, not only to reduce fuel costs but to lower their carbon emissions.
Our solution
We were contracted to design, supply, install and commission the energy solution. We installed a 2.5km trench with 5km of district heating pipe work which was connected to the existing World Cargo CHP Energy Centre.
The network would supply T5 with heat and power. A robust design and good coordination was key to agreeing the network route and achieving the successful installation of the district heating scheme. We designed the network to coordinate with existing services on site, minimise disruption and take the shortest possible route from the energy centre to the terminal.
Avoiding existing infrastructure
Extensive planning and extra care was required due to the large amount of existing critical communications and power networks that serve the airport.
We collated information of all buried existing services prior to installations taking place, which was fundamental to ensuring the safe installation of the pipework.
Because we were working on a live site within close proximity to busy roads and aviation fuel tanks, thorough planning was key. Using close communication, we coordinated with the fuel depot to ensure the section of pipe along the perimeter fence could be installed safely. Careful planning was also required when installing a section of the network adjacent to the Southern Perimeter Road to ensure our workforce were kept safe at all times, as this is a busy dual-carriageway. We also undertook some installations at night to keep disruption to a minimum.
Utilising supply chain to overcome challenges
As the network route went through several staff car parks, close coordination with the airport was essential to keep to the planned schedule, ensuring the car parks could get back to normal as soon as possible.
Installing the pipeline in the airside sections at the end of the southern runway proved challenging as the majority of the works were completed whilst the runway was live, and required the use of heavy plant and machinery, along with the welding and jointing operations.
To overcome these challenges we utilised the services of a civil engineering company who had a proven track record of working on Heathrow Airport. This specialist airside contractor made a significant difference to the install as they already had the registered plant and machinery required for the works, along with a trained workforce with the necessary clearances.
Developing strong relationships was the key to success
The successful installation of this district heating network relied heavily on close liaison with the airport through regular meetings. We needed to have a good understanding of the airports requirements and regulations so that we could work within those guidelines.
Through close consultation with the client we installed the network efficiently, with no delays.
London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 project provided an opportunity for BAA to set & deliver new standards in environmental sustainability for the construction industry. Throughout the design and construction, project teams and suppliers were encouraged to apply innovative techniques and best practice to deliver exemplary environmental performance. Vital Energi’s sophisticated underground pipe network installation taking waste heat from an existing combined heat and power plant provides T5 with 85% of its heat on demand resulting in significant CO2 emissions savings.
