COUNTRY MANOR HOTEL REDUCES CARBON FOOTPRINT WITH WINDHAGER BIOMASS

An 18^th Century country manor house hotel located in rural Lancashire has recently installed a Windhager 180kW BioCABIN.

Briars Hall Country House Hotel, set in the historic civil parish of Lathom, offers 25 en-suite bedrooms as well as a scenic venue for bistro dining, weddings, conferences and other events.

To replace the 400 kW heating system comprising several gas boilers, MCS registered installers Biomass North East installed a purpose-built wood-clad Windhager BioCABIN. Housing three Windhager Excel biomass boilers in cascade, the 180kW system complete with a 16 tonne capacity stainless steel wood pellet hopper was the chosen system to achieve the hotels objectives to provide a sustainable and cost effective solution to heating the entire hotel.

By converting to biomass, the new Windhager biomass system will significantly help the hotel to reduce its carbon footprint by providing a carbon saving of around 180 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

The Windhager BioCABIN was delivered to the site with the BioWIN Excel biomass boilers set up inside. This allowed installers Biomass North East to simply deliver and connect the system within two weeks whilst the hotel remained open to the public.

Mark Higham, owner of the Briars Hall Country House Hotel commented, “It is extremely important to us that we provide our guests with the best possible experience whilst they are staying away from home. A warm and comfortable environment all year round is essential and this is something that our new biomass system has allowed us to achieve. The boilers provide the hotel with constant, controllable heat and are not only reliable but also extremely affordable. We are saving an extraordinary amount of money and the positive impact on the environment is very rewarding.”

Due to the significantly high annual heat demand of 236,520kWh, the hotel will receive 6.8p per kW generated in payments from the commercial Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), with an estimated total of £359,510 over the next 20 years.

The BioWIN Kaskade biomass systems are designed especially for commercial properties, such as hotels, with a high demand for a reliable and efficient heating source. The system can be set to provide constant or variable heat to its maximum capability and produce an output of up to 240kW from up to four BioWIN Excel wood pellet boilers, tailored to the heating demands of the property.

The system proves reliable all year round as each boiler acts as a backup to the others and can continue to operate and provide a comfortable amount of heat should another boiler need to be shut down for maintenance.

Windhager’s BioCABINs are designed to house the BioWIN kaskade systems of any size and are tailor-made to meet the requirements of each individual installation. The cabins are simply delivered to the site and connected to the mains supply of the property through an underground feed. This allows a quick and stress-free installation allowing hotels and other businesses to remain open during the process.

Further information is available from Windhager UK on 01225 892211 email: info@windhager.co.uk or by visiting the company’s website at www.windhager.co.uk

WINDHAGER BIOMASS WARMS 16TH CENTURY TUDOR TOWERS

Kirtling Towers, the remains of a Grade I 16^th Century Tudor house, has recently received its first two installations of Windhager biomass heating systems.

Located near Newmarket, Cambridgeshire, Kirtling Towers now form part of the Fairhaven Estates, owned by Lord and Lady Fairhaven.

The estate made the decision to convert to biomass as an economical and more sustainable alternative to its previous oil heating system.

As a result, two separate Windhager biomass district heating systems, each comprising an 180kW BioWIN Excel Kaskade system were installed by local installers, Acorn Renewable Solutions. They are currently underway with phase three of the project with an expected completion by the winter.

Commenting on the installation of the new Windhager boilers, Beverley Thompson, Lord Fairhaven’s private assistant said, “We are extremely impressed so far with our new Windhager boilers and the entire process has been excellent. The installation by Acorn Renewable Solutions was very professional and tidy given the extent of work that was needed. It was like a work of art and has caused no hassle for us whatsoever.”

She continued, “We decided to convert to biomass as we wanted to reduce our carbon footprint as well as save a significant amount of money on our yearly energy bills. Acorn Renewable Solutions advised us that Windhager biomass boilers are the best and most reliable on the market and we cannot disagree. We are very much looking forward to the benefits that the boilers will bring us over the winter months.”

The two Windhager 180kW biomass systems were installed by Acorn Renewable Solutions as an efficient and environmentally friendly replacement for the estate’s old oil boilers. The automatic feed and backup system of the BioWIN Excel boilers provide the estate with a constant and reliable heat source all year round, without the need for regular maintenance visits.

The installation qualifies for the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which will reward the Fairhaven Estate with £35,000 per year in return payments from the scheme over 20 years. As the cost of wood pellets is about 30% cheaper than oil the estate will also receive more than £16,000 per year in fuel savings for the two installations. This is a considerable difference for the estate which was previously paying extortionate amounts for its annual energy bills, with one building alone costing at least £10,000 per year to heat from its old oil heating systems.

The first of the two district heating systems was installed in a converted barn to provide efficient heating to the Kirtling Towers, as well as many of the estate’s offices, board room and canteen facilities. Acorn Renewable Solutions removed three oil boilers totalling 175kW (100kW, 50 kW and 25 kW) and a 15000 litre oil tank which was previously used to heat these spaces, replacing them with three 60kW Windhager Excel boilers in a cascade format.

A further three 60kW Excel boilers were also installed in cascade in an outbuilding, replacing a total of seven boilers of mixed fuel including oil, LPG Gas and Oil Combi. This district system is now used to heat the Fairhaven Estate, which includes an office, four domestic dwellings and other facilities.

Both systems use underground pipework to pump hot water to the connected buildings, which allowed the systems to be installed at a convenient place for the estate.

Available from 60kW to 240kW, the Windhager BioWIN Excel Kaskade system is engineered to meet the demands of properties with a significantly high annual heat demand, which also require a constant and reliable heat source. The cascade form acts as a backup system which continues to provide heat to the property should one boiler within the system need to be shut down.

Installed with an automatic suction feed, the BioWIN Excel boilers do not require daily attention and can simply be turned on and left alone to operate efficiently. Fully equipped with a stainless steel combustion burner bowl and patented self-cleaning mechanism, cleaning and maintenance is kept to a minimum, with the integrated ash container only requiring emptying as little as three times a year.

Further information is available from Windhager UK on 01225 892211 email: info@windhager.co.uk or by visiting the company’s website at www.windhager.co.uk

WILDLIFE PARK GOES GREEN WITH WINDHAGER BIOMASS SYSTEM

Wingham Wildlife Park has seen significantly reduced costs since the installation of two Windhager 45kW BioWIN Excel wood pellet boilers. The wildlife park, located in Kent, specified the wood pellet biomass boilers to replace its previous oil heating system due to its eco-friendly credentials as well as the money saving benefits from the Government RHI scheme.

The fully automated 90 kW Windhager BioWIN Excel Kaskade system was installed by local installers, Grummant Heating and Plumbing Services, into a purpose built external cabin which also incorporates a separate wood pellet storage room. The boilers, which use a six probe suction feed system for the wood pellets from the pellet store to the boiler to produce a steady and comfortable amount of heat to the park’s offices and animal hospital rooms.

The wildlife park had planned to extend its previous oil heating system to heat the park’s indoor play area, which had been out of use during the colder winter months. Instead, the Windhager biomass system is now providing heat to the play area as well as the park’s offices and animal hospital rooms whilst still producing approximately £12,000 in savings a year.

Scott Binskin, Finance Director at Wingham Wildlife Park, commented “We were recommended a Windhager system by Grummant who assured us that they were extremely reliable and high quality. I was a little unconvinced to begin with but having now seen it for myself I cannot believe how well the system works. It is without a doubt one of the best decisions we have made for the park.” He added, “The environmental aspects of the system are really encouraging and the incredible money savings plus payments from the Government’s RHI scheme mean that we can heat the park at a lower cost allowing us to direct more funds to the animals, which is very important to us. By also heating the indoor play area we have been able to keep it open during the winter months, which will attract visitors all year round.”

The wildlife park’s energy savings are enhanced by over £11,000 in payments from the RHI scheme, which together enable it to receive a very quick return on investment of just four and half years. Since the installation the park has also only used approximately £2,500 worth of wood pellets over the course of the year, and has over £5,500 worth still deposited in the wood pellet store despite the increased demand for heating. Having this large capacity store has allowed the staff at the park to simply leave the automated system to operate without regularly needing to refill the pellets.

Available in 10kW-60kW, the low maintenance BioWIN Excel boiler does not require day-to-day attention due to its automated wood pellet feed system, patented cleaning mechanism and an integrated ash container. The large ash box can hold ash from up to eight tonnes of wood and only needs to be emptied three times per year.

The Windhager BioWIN Excel Kaskade system is the best heating solution for buildings with a large heating demand such as hotels, schools and other commercial properties due to its high output and minimal maintenance.  Up to four Windhager Excel boilers can be connected to form a cascade system with an output range of up to 240kW depending on the heat demand of the property. The benefit of having two or more boilers in a cascade system guarantees that if one boiler needs to be shut down for maintenance the rest of the system will continue to work efficiently.

Scott Binskin commented again, “We have plans to install more Windhager biomass systems in the near future. We would strongly recommend them to anyone that is looking to lower the costs of their energy bills whilst still having an efficient and reliable heating source.”

Further information on biomass heating systems is available from Windhager UK on 01225 892211 email: info@windhager.co.uk or by visiting the company’s website at www.windhager.co.uk