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State Of The Art System For Grade 2 Listed Building Nantgaredig

Grade II listed building located at Nantgaredig, Carmarthenshire stands in a picturesque setting, adjacent to the Towy river. The solid walled 3/2 storey building has a very high annual heating demand and the occupiers were looking for an alternative heating source to ensure a building that was comfortable right through the year.

Grade 2 Listed Building Biomass Installation Carmarthenshire

Owners and project manager, Kedrick Davies were keen to ensure that the biomass solution resulted in a comfortable, efficient, and environmentally friendly building. Working closely with architect Niall Maxwell and his team ruralofficeforarchitecture.co.uk we collectively convinced the conservation and planning officers of the environmental benefits of the scheme.

Biomass Boiler Room in Grade 2 Listed Building Nantgaredig

When it came to selecting a heating system, biomass seemed an obvious choice, and the existence of a courtyard building provided the opportunity to locate a fully automated system linked to the house via below ground-insulated pipework. An additional consideration the risk of flooding due to proximity to the river and the pellet silo and boiler needed to be elevated above flood risks levels. After examining the options, a compact wood pellet system, based on a high efficiency Austrian Biotech boiler was specified, and installed in late 2015. Combined with a large well insulated buffer cylinder from Pivaset in Scandinavia the heat generated is retained more efficiently than with “standard” buffer cylinders. The system provides all the necessary space heating and hot water for this large house.

Biofutures at Biomass Boiler Installation Site, Carmarthenshire

Kedrick comments, “Although heating of an old and listed building can be a challenge, on the positive side, the detailed heat load calculations and the thick, stone walls prove a very effective heat store which helps smooth out the peaks in demand on the boiler.

The use of a sack silo (5Ton) in the outside building ensured good air circulation keeping the pellets dry. The pellets from the silo are feed automatically to the boiler and with the automated heat exchanger and grate cleaning the system provides great convenience, requiring the ash to be emptied once every 3 months approximately”.

Given the flood risk and the need to retain the fabric of the buildings substantially intact, accommodating the plant /flue was a little challenging. Nevertheless, with the expertise of the team in negotiating the planning and listed building approvals an appropriate solution was achieved. The owners now have a very efficient wood pellet heating system that will provide many years’ worth of financial and environmental benefits.

The owners have commented on the biomass installation to say;

The Biofutures team collaborated effectively with our architects to find a practical solution to achieve our goal of heating our home and providing hot water using environmentally friendly technology while respecting the character of the old buildings.

Once permission was received, Biofutures coordinated the installation with our builders so that the system was up and running in time for the autumn and to qualify for the available government incentive scheme.

The system is completely automated, quiet and effective.

Thank you to all the team for their friendly and professional approach and execution of the project.