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

WINDHAGER BIOMASS BOILERS THE IDEAL CHOICE FOR BEST WESTERN’S DERWENT MANOR

Best Western’s Derwent Manor hotel, set in 20 acres of rural Northumberland overlooking Derwent Valley, has increased its green credentials with the installation of a Windhager biomass system.  The 3 star spa and leisure hotel boasts 48 spacious double bedrooms, six bars, six meeting rooms, a large restaurant and full spa and leisure facilities.

The hotel has recently upgraded their existing old oil and electricity fueled heating systems to a fully integrated Windhager biomass system. This state-of-the-art sustainable heating system uses wood pellets to provide heating and hot water to the hotel, its cottages and all their leisure facilities.The total installation commissioned by GreenGuru NE is made up of two separate 180kW systems, each comprising of three Windhager BioWIN Excel 60kW wood pellet boilers in a ‘cascade’ format.

Having the boilers installed in this format has helped to ensure increased efficiency of the whole heating system enabling the hotel to make considerable fuel savings and provides an automatic failsafe in case a boiler has to be shutdown.  With the costs of wood pellets being approximately 30% cheaper than oil and less than half the price of electricity, this provided the hotel with considerable fuel savings along with being applicable for the Renewable Heat Incentive.

“The upgrade to a Windhager biomass system has been a great choice for us. Our old oil and electric boilers were costing us over £29,000 each year, so when GreenGuru provided us with the figures to move to biomass we didn’t think twice. The overall cost savings are fantastic especially with the great benefits from the RHI scheme” commented Keith Donkin, General Manager, Derwent Manor Hotel.

The newly integrated biomass heating system is predicted to generate returns of over £39,000 per year in government Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments for 20 years.

The hotel opted for the automated pellet feeding BioWIN Excel 60kW boiler, which is fully equipped with its stainless steel combustion burner bowl, patented self-cleaning mechanism. Also its low maintenance requirements have significantly reduced the need for manual upkeep for staff. The underground pipework installed carries hot water from the boiler house to the hotel, its cottages and leisure facility.

The hotel’s holiday cottages, which were previously using an electric boiler system, had new wet systems installed within each accommodation to enable them to use the heat from the new biomass system.

The BioWIN Excel’s small footprint, fully automated integration functions and boiler storage hopper enabled a quick turnaround. The hotel’s old oil and electric boilers were disconnected and removed with no downtime, which resulted in no disruption to the hotel throughout the installation.

“As a leading luxury hotel, providing high quality facilities and service is vital whilst actively investing in ways to improve our environmental performance. This upgrade has enabled us to continue achieving these goals. The whole heating system has increased our boiler efficiency to 92% and has given us beneficial flexibility in how we can heat our whole site” Keith added.

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

GOLF CLUB REDUCES CARBON FOOTPRINT AND ENERGY COSTS WITH NEW WINDHAGER BOILERS

Windhager has recently provided Taunton and Pickeridge Golf Club with a twin biomass boiler system to reduce its energy costs. The Somerset golf club is run by its members, who jointly made the decision to convert their previous oil heating system to biomass, which resulted in the installation of a Windhager 120kW BioWIN Excel Kaskade system with a 1500 litre AccuWIN accumulator tank. The system was fitted by Somerset and South West based installer, Orin Green Energy, who have much experience of biomass installations and specialist knowledge of Windhager products.

The main objective presented by the golf club was to decrease the amount paid for energy and develop an income stream from the government’s RHI scheme that would benefit development of the club and venue.

Taunton and Pickeridge Golf Club is the highest rated club by Today’s Golfer magazine in the South West and has been host to the PGA National 4BBB Championship qualifying round, along with several county championship competitions. As well as being a traditional 18-hole golf club, the venue also has four multifunction rooms to accommodate conferences and parties, including weddings.

The club has installed two 60kW Windhager BioWIN Excel wood pellet boilers as an environmentally friendly and economic alternative to their previous oil boiler, which was consuming on average 15,000 litres of oil per year. With the cost of oil currently reaching as high as 64p per litre* and wood pellets as little as 4.1p per kWh generated, the club will save a considerable amount of money in energy costs.

The installation qualified for the government’s RHI scheme, which will also generate a significant amount of money in return payments. The scheme offers a repayment of 8.6p per kWh generated which will amount to £12,200 per year for the current energy consumption of the golf club. This, alongside the savings from the reduced energy costs, means that the initial loan to pay for the installation will be paid back within five years, and thereafter will generate an average of £22,600 surplus per year.

Mark Readman, Executive Manager at Taunton and Pickeridge Golf Club commented, “With the future of the club in mind, the low running costs of a biomass boiler system as well as the RHI scheme payments encouraged our decision to convert to biomass boilers.”

The two Windhager BioWIN 60kW Excel biomass boilers were installed in a purpose-built cedar-clad plant room, built by Orin Green Energy, outside the main property. This also housed an integral wood pellet store and 1500 litre AccuWIN accumulator tank to run alongside the existing plumbing and central heating system at the golf club. The BioWIN Excel is particularly suitable for larger properties with demanding heat requirements, such as the golf club, and involves very little maintenance or attention.

The two automatically fed BioWIN Excel wood pellet boilers were specified for the golf club not only for their cost benefits, but also for their operational efficiency all year round. The boilers have been installed in a cascade system enabling them to continue to provide heating to the property during servicing and maintenance without the entire system needing to be shut down. The boilers also have a fully automated operational function allowing them to simply be switched on and left to run.

Mark Readman commented again, “We found the whole process very smooth and seamless, Scott and his team kept us informed throughout every stage. The installation didn’t cause any disruption to the daily running of the club and we were extremely pleased. Since the installation we definitely feel the difference with the new Windhager biomass boilers, which run exceptionally well and we are pleased with our investment. We look forward to the benefits they will bring to the club over future years.”

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

BIOMASS EXPERTS WINDHAGER STAR IN TV DOCUMENTARY

Biomass heating specialists Windhager will be passing on their expert knowledge to home owners as a part of the ‘HOW TO…’ television documentary series. The episode will inform viewers and raise awareness of the economic and environmental benefits of biomass heating.

The programme series is broadcasting a sequence of ‘HOW TO… Save money on your energy bills’ episodes from the beginning of 2015, with a 30 episode featuring Windhager’s professional knowledge on biomass boilers being aired on the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th February on channel FAB TV at 7.30pm.

Windhager is the leading manufacturer of biomass heating systems and is also dedicated to raising awareness of sustainable heating solutions. Charlie Lamb, Sales Director at Windhager UK commented, “We are grateful to have been invited to take part in conveying such a vital message to the nation. It is important that people understand the effects of fossil fuels on the environment and how these can be avoided. Biomass boilers are not only a green solution to heating systems but can provide significant cost savings as well as benefitting from RHI payments.”

The series has been made to encourage viewers to make eco-friendly changes to the way that they heat their homes as well as advise them of the additional cost-effective benefits including the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive. The RHI scheme is a part of the UK’s target of reducing 80% of carbon emissions by 2050 and provides long-term financial support for all qualified installations in both domestic and commercial properties. Domestic customers of biomass boilers are not only receiving low-cost energy bills with savings of up to £1,000 per year but also an additional 10.8p* per KW of renewable heat that is generated as a return payment from the government.

At present some people are fearful that changing their existing boiler and heating systems is a stressful, chaotic procedure. Nigel Preen from Almondsbury Ecoheat will be presented to discuss how installing a biomass boiler to replace previous systems is a really straightforward process.  Mr Preen is fully trained under the Windhager Installer Network (WIN) scheme and has much experience with Windhager’s products, as well as older boiler and heating systems.

Windhager is widely recognised as specialists in pellet fired heating systems and has a wide range of wood pellet boilers, including the BioWIN Excel and the new BioWIN2. The wood pellets are made of extremely dense, compressed sawdust and are a higher energy fuel than wood in its natural form. The wood pellet boilers are a popular option for domestic installations as they require less storage space than wood chips or logs. A demonstration of how Windhager’s wood pellet boilers operate and how they achieve high energy efficiency, as well as further information on installations, fossil fuels and biomass, and the Governments Renewable Heat Incentive can be seen on the show on 10^th, 11^th and 12^th February on FAB TV, Sky channel 254 at 7.30pm.

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

BIOMASS ENSURES AWARD WINNING HOLIDAYS ARE WARM AND COSY

A farmhouse and four other properties including high quality self-catering holiday cottages in West Dorset are being heated by three Windhager wood pellet boilers. Pigeon House is set within 1000 acres of farmland that also hosts the luxury holiday lets, Dove House and Swallows.

A biomass heating system was installed to cope with the high demand more economically while reducing the impact the business has on the environment. The Windhager BioWIN 60 kW boilers are situated in an adapted brick and stone building nearby and being fully automated they require minimal maintenance as well as being compliant for the RHI scheme.

Voted among Britain’s top 50 holiday cottages, the accommodation compromises old barns restored in 2000 with high-spec finishes to provide luxury accommodation for 13 people in Dove house, which also includes a heated indoor swimming pool, and 4 people in the smaller Swallows.

In a bid to reduce the environmental and economical consequences of the large heating demand that the multiple buildings entail, biomass alternatives were researched and soon seen to be the most suitable for achieving the aims.

“We wanted to find a heating alternative that was more economically efficient and environmentally friendly than our old existing system. Moving to biomass was the ideal solution for our farm and self-catering holiday business, the Windhager boilers function extremely well with the fluctuating heating demand from the holiday properties and allows a great deal of control over the boilers’ outputs at any one time”, commented Hugo James, Pigeon House Owner.

Windhager approved installers, AP Chant Renewables Ltd, consulted, designed and installed a biomass system that comprises three Windhager BioWIN 60 kW boilers installed in a cascade system with accumulator tanks. A disused stone and brick building in the farmyard was converted into two rooms, one to act as a plant room for the boilers and the other to house the wood pellet fuel storage hopper.

The Windhager BioWIN Excel model features a unique automated pellet feeding system that provides a continuous supply of the 6mm wood pellets to the boiler via suction probes in the storage hopper. This function allows the pellet storage area to be separate from the boiler room if necessary and with up to 8 suction probes available per unit the storage volume remains uncompromised with no need for sloping sides within the fuel hopper. This combined with the self-cleaning burner bowl consisting of two sliding ash grates and a large integrated ash box that requires manual emptying as little as once per heating season, means the BioWIN Excel provides a very low maintenance solution.

The cascade system is designed to allow the boilers to be serviced one at a time without the entire system having to be shutdown, ensuring consistent heating and hot water is provided, an essential factor in maintaining a high standard of service in the hospitality sector.

The BioWIN Excel reflects Windhager’s reputation for durable quality by including a double ignition element and long-life stainless steel burner bowl. This coupled with thermal controlled combustion makes it an excellent, versatile option for heating multiple properties that are looking to swap their expensive and high-fuel consumption systems for the long term, economical and renewable alternatives that Windhager provides.

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

GOLF CLUB AND HOTEL WIN WITH BIOMASS

A golf club has increased its green credentials having installed a Windhager biomass boiler to provide heating for the club facilities and the adjacent Manor House Hotel. The Manor House Golf Club is situated in the Cotswold countryside overlooking the Castle Combe valley and provides 5 star accommodation as part of The Exclusive Hotels Group.

As part of a green initiative the company replaced its existing oil heating with a Windhager BioWIN wood pellet boiler system. The club will not only significantly reduce its carbon footprint but is set to save 52% a year on fuel bills and generate an annual £14,000 from RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive).

The Manor House Golf Club found, like many other businesses, that its current oil heating system was inefficient and proving extremely costly as fuel prices steadily rise and maintenance becomes a more regular necessity. The Exclusive Hotels Group has its own environmental agenda called ‘Exclusively Green’ with which they aim to reduce the impact the business has on the environment. This initiative has already seen the Manor House Hotel and Golf Club purchase all electricity from 100% renewable sources such as wind farms. This desire to improve energy consumption instigated research into alternative heating options of which biomass was deemed the most attractive for the golf club.

The oil heating system was costing on average £13,000 a year in fuel alone, using 20,000 litres of oil to heat the whole building, which includes accommodation, restaurant, bars and changing facilities. In contrast, the biomass boiler system installed will save around £6,500 in fuel a year for the club while increasing boiler efficiency to 92%. Combined with the significant payback the business will receive through the government’s RHI scheme, moving to the greener alternative was an easy choice to make.

Managing director of the group, Danny Pecorelli commented, “We’ve made many decisions across the business to spend more on certain items which fit our green criteria. The green agenda is our number one priority, but having said that, in this case biomass has also helped us to reduce our overall utilities’ costs.”

The installation comprised two 60 kW Windhager BioWIN Excel wood pellet boilers in a cascade system, suitable for situations where a large and varying output is required. The BioWin Excel boilers feature wide modulating output ranges to consistently provide maximum efficiency and the cascade operating system controls the boiler output and demand. The 6mm wood pellets are specially supplied from sustainable sources and are all UK manufactured.

Maintenance requirements are significantly reduced with the BioWIN Excel’s automated pellet feeding system and stainless steel combustion burner bowl that has a patented cleaning mechanism, removing much of the necessity for manual upkeep. Its compact design enables the BioWIN Excel to be installed in the smallest of boiler rooms while the pellet storage areas flexible requirements allows a variety of buildings to be adopted.

Wessex Biomass was the chosen installer to undertake the project and they did not hesitate in specifying Windhager as the ideal boiler manufacturer for the job. Peregrine Nicholls, managing director of Wessex Biomass, cited Windhager’s good reputation for quality engineering as a key factor in using them saying, “ We’d worked with them on eight projects of varying sizes before this one and on every job we’ve never had to deal with the client once the job was completed- testament to the high quality of their products and technology. Their central control system is great, as is the MES weather compensating control technology. For installers, you want to work with a trusted manufacturer that provides reliable products; Windhager has never disappointed.”

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