North East biomass experts have custom-fitted a £250,000 wood pellet heating system into a Cumbrian care home which is using green power to keep its residents warm and comfortable.
re:heat worked for 18 months with the owners of the Rosehill residential home at Aglionby, near Carlisle, to design a bespoke, sustainable heating system to replace inefficient oil-fired boilers.
The 500kW biomass boiler is fuelled by wood pellets stored in a new building on site constructed by McKnight & Son after re:heat’s detailed design work to understand the heating needs of the Grade II listed care home.
Alnwick-based re:heat also manages the fuel supply and delivery of wood pellet stocks at the home, to ensure residents are never without heat and hot water.
The new biomass system is cutting fuel bills for care home owners the Henry Lonsdale Trust, in conjunction with benefits the home receives from the Government, which are paid every quarter for the amount of clean, renewable energy it generates.
Rosehill benefits from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme which is a financial incentive for homes and businesses to encourage the uptake of low carbon heat.
The charitable trust took the bold decision to invest in new heating technology and solar panels to ensure sustainable power, heat and hot water for its 40 residents.
The care home owners have installed a solar farm on part of the land surrounding the listed property, enabling them to generate their own electricity.
The new biomass boiler was connected into the existing heating pipe network by re:heat, and the result has delighted John Mallinson, chair of the Henry Lonsdale Charitable Trust.
“We were looking to make the home more sustainable, looking for an environmentally-friendly heating option to make us more competitive in the future,” he said.
“The added bonus for us with the biomass boiler is that we have installed something environmentally-friendly which provides us with all the heat and hot water our residents need.
“We’ve also installed a solar farm which gives us our own electricity to use, and when we have a surplus we sell it via the National Grid.
“Biomass is far more sustainable than oil. We chose re:heat based on their expertise and track record and this has proven to be a great decision.”
Ben Tansey, re:heat director, said the biomass boiler is large enough to generate heat for 25 average-sized family homes.
“What the biomass boiler gives the residents and owners of Rosehill is a lower cost, sustainable and more robust system than the oil boilers they had,” he said.
“We sat down with the care home owners to really understand what their requirements were, why they wanted to change, to look at the design of the listed building and see how this system could be carefully fitted in place.
“It is important that the residents have a high and continuous level of heat, and the technical solutions we have put forward for Rosehill have ensured that we are future-proofing their heating system.
“The principle we took for the whole scheme was that with some additional capital expenditure in the future, they will have the option to switch to alternative renewable fuel sources – such as wood chip for instance – so they remain flexible and able to take advantage of cost effective options which may arise.”
re:heat supports firms through the process of designing and installing biomass boilers, and through the RHI scheme, to help them unlock the potential of the latest green energy technology.
re:heat was founded in 2011 by Neil Harrison and Ben Tansey to assist businesses of all sizes convert from fossil fuels to sustainable, low carbon wood fuel heating systems.
The firm’s team of experts can help clients with buying a boiler, designing systems, fuel supply logistics and material handling, fault-finding and problem resolution, and specialist training. More at www.reheat.uk.comv