Industry: Gyms & Leisure
Location: David Lloyd Cricklewood, London
Programme Phase: Protection / Heat Pump Hot Water Support
Installation Type: Cold water supply, hot water return & domestic hot water protection
Background
David Lloyd Cricklewood is a premium health and leisure club with high daily domestic hot water demand across showers, changing facilities, poolside services and general club operations.
The site uses multiple air source heat pumps serving a closed primary heating circuit, with heat transferred into the domestic hot water system through plate heat exchangers. The plant room includes two domestic hot water calorifiers, plate heat exchangers, immersion heaters for temperature boosting, and a hot water recirculation loop serving the wider building.
As part of Sidon Water’s wider work with David Lloyd Clubs, Cricklewood was identified as a strong site for Integro™ technology due to its hard water conditions, heat pump-led hot water arrangement, and opportunity to support long-term asset protection across the domestic hot water system.
Challenge
In a high-use leisure environment, reliable hot water generation and recovery are essential to maintaining the member experience. Cricklewood’s system includes several areas where hard water can affect performance over time, particularly where water is exposed to elevated temperatures.
The site review confirmed scaling on immersion heater elements, with the system layout indicating that domestic hot water production is supported by calorifiers, immersion heaters, plate heat exchangers and recirculation.
During works, scale was also physically removed from immersion elements, giving the site team clear visual evidence of the hardness-related load being placed on key hot water components.
The key considerations were:
- Supporting the performance of a heat pump-led domestic hot water system
- Protecting calorifiers and immersion heaters from ongoing scale formation
- Supporting plate heat exchanger performance
- Helping maintain reliable hot water recovery
- Reducing maintenance demand linked to scaled components
- Providing a non-salt-based treatment approach suitable for the plant configuration
Our Solution
Integro™ Solution
Following survey and technical review, Sidon Water recommended a multi-point Integro™ installation strategy to provide domestic system coverage and protect key assets within the hot water system.
The installed configuration included:
- One Integro™ unit on the cold water supply, supporting treatment before wider distribution
- One Integro™ unit on the main hot water return, supporting recirculating domestic hot water
- Additional Integro™ protection around the domestic hot water / plate heat exchanger circuit, targeting key thermal scaling zones
This approach was selected to condition incoming hard water, support the recirculating hot water system, and protect the areas most exposed to temperature-related scale formation. The February technical review identified the cold supply, hot water return and domestic-side plate heat exchanger protection as the preferred configuration for full domestic system coverage.
The installation also sits well alongside Cricklewood’s heat pump arrangement, where maintaining efficient heat transfer and protecting downstream domestic hot water assets is particularly important.
Installation Evidence
The installation photos show Integro™ units fitted across the cold water and hot water circuits, including protection around the calorifier and inline immersion areas.
The removed immersion elements showed visible scale accumulation, and scale was collected during the works. This provides a practical baseline reference for future comparison when Sidon Water revisits the site.
Follow-Up & Verification
No formal monitoring has taken place yet.
Sidon Water will revisit the site to check that the system continues to operate well following installation, with particular attention to the heat pump-led domestic hot water arrangement.
The follow-up visit should focus on:
- General hot water system performance
- Condition of immersion elements where accessible
- Visual inspection around calorifiers and high-temperature pipework
- Feedback from the David Lloyd site team
- Any changes in maintenance demand linked to scale
- Confirmation that the system remains stable and operating as intended
Because Cricklewood uses a heat pump-based hot water strategy, the follow-up is especially valuable. Protecting heat transfer surfaces and reducing scale formation can help support system resilience, recovery performance and long-term asset condition.
Outcome - Early Stage
David Lloyd Cricklewood provides a strong example of Integro™ being used to support a modern leisure-site hot water system, particularly where heat pumps, calorifiers, immersion heaters and plate heat exchangers are working together to meet high daily hot water demand.
The installation is expected to support:
- Reduced ongoing scale formation in domestic hot water circuits
- Improved protection for calorifiers and immersion heaters
- Support for plate heat exchanger performance
- Improved resilience of the heat pump-led hot water system
- Reduced maintenance demand linked to scaled hot water components
- Continued reliable hot water delivery for members and site teams
- A practical reference site for future David Lloyd heat pump installations
Cricklewood will now be reviewed as part of Sidon Water’s ongoing support process, with a follow-up visit planned to assess system condition and confirm that the installation continues to support reliable operation.