Specifying fan convectors for schools comes down to four choices made room by room: the Belgravia range (Classic, Supreme or Tilevector), the mounting position, the heat exchanger for the heat source, and the controls. SPC manufactures the full Belgravia range in Leicester, and agreeing these choices before a half-term or holiday window opens is what keeps a short installation programme achievable.
Why do school heating projects run to holiday windows?
Pupils and staff cannot share a building with open ceilings and live pipework, so heating works run in the gaps between terms, from a single week at half-term to the Christmas, Easter and summer breaks. Each window gives the contractor a fixed end date, and the heating has to be working on the first morning back. Surveys, unit selection and orders therefore need to be settled before the window opens, not during it.
Specifying fan convectors for schools: which Belgravia range suits which room?
Mounting options across the family include exposed or cased floor and wall positions, recessed or concealed positions, low-level floor mounting and ceiling mounting.
Belgravia Classic and Belgravia Supreme suit classrooms, halls and corridors with usable floor or wall space. Model 150 in either range delivers up to 16.3 kW at high speed (80/70°C water, 18°C room air).
Belgravia Tilevector suits rooms where the walls are taken by windows, storage or display boards. Solo and Duo fit 600 x 600mm T-bar grids, plasterboard ceilings or can be suspended from solid ceilings. Tilevector Plus also fits a T-bar grid, with the only difference being its increased depth (260mm against 210mm), so allow for the extra 50mm in the ceiling void.
| Range | Typical position | Key figures |
|---|---|---|
| Belgravia Classic (BEL 40, 60, 90, 150) | Floor or wall, cased or recessed | Cased lengths 700, 900, 1200 and 1500mm; style heights 600mm to 2000mm; 32kg to 57kg |
| Belgravia Supreme (SPR 40, 60, 90, 150) | Floor or wall, cased or recessed | Lengths 800, 1000, 1300 and 1600mm; 735mm high, 235mm deep; 31kg to 52kg |
| Belgravia Tilevector Solo and Duo | Ceiling | Solo 595 x 595 x 210mm (18kg), Duo 1195 x 595 x 210mm (35kg); 3.7 kW and 8.6 kW at 80/70°C |
| Belgravia Tilevector Plus | Ceiling | Solo Plus 595 x 595 x 260mm (20kg), Duo Plus 1195 x 595 x 260mm (35kg) |
What safety features should school fan convectors have?
Active LST (low surface temperature) is available on Belgravia Classic and Belgravia Supreme in A and BS styles. It senses the casing temperature at its hottest point and uses an independent valve to modulate water flow, holding the surface at or below 43°C, the NHS guideline threshold. Rounded ends are included, and Active LST outputs range from 3.1 to 8.0 kW across sizes 40 to 150 (80/60°C water, 20°C room air).
Active LST units use the standard 2-row coil only, so check the output at your design temperatures before combining LST with a low temperature scheme.
Noise for Classic and Supreme runs from 32 to 46 NR depending on size and speed, and from 34 to 44 NR for Tilevector. Belgravia Supreme has no sharp corners.
Which coil works with a heat pump or low temperature system?
Belgravia Classic and Belgravia Supreme offer three heat exchangers. The standard coil is rated at 80/70°C. The enhanced coil adds surface area for low water temperatures, delivering 3.3, 4.5, 6.3 and 8.5 kW on sizes 40, 60, 90 and 150 at 50/40°C and high speed. The low-flow coil is SPC’s own design with ½” connections, delivering 4.1, 6.6, 8.7 and 11.5 kW at 60/45°C and high speed.
Belgravia Tilevector Plus is designed for heat pumps and condensing boilers. At 45/35°C, Solo Plus delivers 2.1 to 2.8 kW and Duo Plus 4.7 to 6.3 kW across its three fan speeds.
The government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme funds schools and other public buildings to switch from fossil fuel heating to low carbon heating such as heat pumps, with Phase 4 projects running to 2027-28, so low temperature design is increasingly relevant. See SPC’s low water temperature compatibility page for more.
Which controls suit a school estate?
When specifying fan convectors for schools, control choice follows how the estates team manages the building and who can reach the units:
- Tamper resistance: tamper-proof thermostats (TRT1 and TRT2), a curved tamperproof case for the Modulo v3 controller, and lockable tamper-proof access panels.
- Proportional control: Modulo v3 touch-screen controller or the surface-mounted Vision LCD controller, both with 0-10V fan control.
- Heat pump systems: the ALTC thermostat has an adjustable fan cut-out (30 to 90°C). The fixed LTC thermostat is not suitable for weather-compensated heat pump systems.
- BMS: BMS1 for remote enable/disable, BMS2 for on/off and speed control via a 0-10V signal.
What should you have ready for a site survey?
The SPC team can work from this information remotely, with an occasional site visit where a project calls for it:
- Room schedule with required outputs or heat loss figures and design room temperatures
- Heat source (boiler, heat pump or both) with design flow and return temperatures
- Preferred mounting position for each room, with drawings or photographs
- Ceiling type and void depth wherever Tilevector is being considered
- Existing emitters and pipework positions, and the electrical supply at each position
- Control approach, finish requirements, and the dates of the holiday window, including any phasing
What is the current lead time for Belgravia fan convectors?
Lead times for Belgravia fan convectors change through the year. Contact SPC’s Internal Sales team on 0116 249 0044 or at spc@spc-hvac.co.uk for the latest lead times before committing to a half-term or holiday window. S & P Coil Products Limited, ISO 9001:2015 certified and manufacturing in Leicester for over 50 years, builds the range in-house.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Many schemes split the work by wing, floor or zone and complete one zone per holiday. Share the phasing plan with SPC at the start so that unit supply can be planned around each window.
Yes. Selection is made room by room, for example Belgravia Classic or Belgravia Supreme in teaching spaces and Belgravia Tilevector where wall space is limited.
Yes. SPC manufactures the current Belgravia units and also provides spares for existing ones. Send the details and photographs of the units already installed, and the team can advise on current equivalents.
No, not for water-heated units. Belgravia fans run on 230V / 50Hz. Electric element versions use 400V / 3-phase.
Talk to SPC about specifying fan convectors for schools
For specification support, complete the enquiry form below, call 0116 249 0044 or email spc@spc-hvac.co.uk.
Related reading: fan convector installations during spring half-term, fan convectors for churches, Towers School in Dover and Lydd Primary School.