The Challenge
The Hall was built in 1914 as an extension to the former manor house which dates back to the late 15th Century. The village hall heating consisted of five 3kW electric convector heaters which were regularly left on by the hirers when they departed. There was also a central heating system with the gas boiler and controls located in the former manor house – now used daily by a pre-school. The restrictive access to the central heating controls meant the heating was often left on after the hall had been used or not turned on when it was needed!
The distance between the boiler and the radiators also led to significant heat loss as the water flowed through the extended pipework. As a result, the radiators never got hot enough to effectively heat the hall.
The Committee was looking for an infrared village hall heating system which would warm the Hall to a comfortable temperature in a relatively short time, to avoid heating the hall when it was not in use.
The ability to accurately control the temperature was also an important consideration to avoid wasting valuable energy and to cater for the different temperature requirements of the various activities taking place in the Hall, for example, pilates, static-spinning, bridge, meetings, dances and private functions.
The high pitched roof had been a problem for the convection heaters as the warm air produced was lost into the roof space giving little immediate benefit to the occupants. It was important the new heating system addressed this issue.
The toilets and a storage area also needed to be warmed, but to a lower temperature than the Hall. It, therefore, made sense to divide the building into separate heating zones each with their own thermostatic controls.
