Warm welcome for heated concourse

Pride Park is home to 30,000 fans on match days and the importance of providing a warm and comfortable environment for spectators was paramount to Mr Morris, especially with more and more families attending games and the winter months being so cold. The heated concourse is thought to be the first one in the UK and has received a very warm welcome from fans with the club receiving some very positive feedback verbally and through social media. It has been an excellent valuable initiative adding to the enjoyment of a match day experience.

Derby County Spokesman Paul Tyrrell said "The heating system is one of the first to be introduced to stadia in the UK and are we delighted with it. Importantly, our supporters will feel the benefit of it for many seasons to come." Mr Tyrell added.

The concourse is open to the pitch, therefore the outside air would constantly infiltrate into the area.  The Reznor Nor-Ray-Vac system was ideal as the system transfers energy by means of electromagnetic waves, hence passes through the air without heating it.  This system heat surfaces rather than the air, meaning an increased efficiency.  Another major benefit to radiant heat is to be able to create an environment without stuffiness.

The Nor-Ray-Vac system was designed and implemented by local contractors Pegasus, and provides blanket heat coverage of the concourse, eliminating any cold spots and has an estimated potential fuel saving of 25% over an equivalent warm air system in this type of environment.

As the concourse is situated underneath the stadium seats, the versatility of the system design meant the flue was able to installed horizontally through the exterior walls. With the installation covering the North, West and Family Stands the total system installed comprised nine LR burners suspended at 6m high and 2 unitary Vision U Tube radiant heaters. The Family Stand and West Stand are situated at either end of the pitch and each are arranged in two temperature zones controlled by Reznor SmartCom3 with just two discharge flue points.  The North Stand has four temperature zones providing flexibility when segregating the stand when the club increases the away fans allocation.