We had a bit of a warm spell recently. One side effect for us was that some of our sites boiler control systems started to panic in an unexpected way.

Each boiler is fitted with a fire alarm which links into the site-wide system. Unfortunately it got so hot in a couple of the storage-heater boiler rooms that the temperature sensor started flipping out thinking there were flames causing the heat. Luckily, we caught the alarm within the 3 minute silent alarm before emergency services were automatically contacted and the site-wide alarm sounded, prompting an evacuation.

Overriding a firealarm long term is not a good idea, so we had to find a way to reduce the temperature in these small, cramped, dusty rooms.

Our solution was simple, but I liked it a lot - turn off the heating element, then run around the building turning on all the hot water taps.

This refilled the hot water storage tanks with cold water. The taps being on carried all the heat away from the room and within minutes the room had cooled significantly. It is a bit of a waste of water, which is a shame, and there was no hot water in the building for the afternoon, but that beats evacuating out from our cool offices into the high-thirty-C outdoors.

The simple fixes are the best.