Kirtling Towers, the remains of a Grade I 16th 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.
