Air source heat pump in listed village hall
Saving thousands of pounds in off-gas areas
17th century Messing Village Hall has undergone a substantial eco-friendly refurbishment, boasting two air source heat pumps manufactured by leading green energy firm Stiebel Eltron.
Colchester based installers Blueflame Services have completed the fit-out of the cutting edge technology, which will heat the building as well as providing hot water. Blueflame installed two products from Wirral based Stiebel Eltron – a WPL18e Air Source Heat Pump for space heating and WWK300 Air Source Heat Pump for domestic hot water. Messing Village Hall, which includes an extension built in the 1950s, has been fully insulated and also now boasts an environmentally friendly underfloor heating system.
Geoff Jackson of the Messing Village Hall Committee said: “It was always our intention that the project, with the help and cooperation of planning officers, should become a showcase of what can be done with a listed building in a conservation area. “The project development and sustainability study that was commissioned showed that by employing high standards of insulation and renewable methods of heating we could make significant savings of carbon dioxide emissions. These savings also make a contribution to the hall’s finances and are thereby helping
ensure the hall’s sustainability.
“We have already had a lot of interest from community groups and organisations from across the area wishing to use our building.”
Messing Village Hall is situated in an off gas area and was previously heated by oil, which proved both expensive and inefficient
The retrofit project – which received funding from the Building Research Establishment
Committee’s
Sustainable Energy Programme – will save 7,000 kilograms of CO2 a year.
Messing Village Hall is managed and owned by a committee which has
worked with Rural Community Council of Essex, architects, and planners
to integrate the energy efficient solution.
By installing high
standards of insulation and renewable methods of heating together with
rain water recovery, it will ensure the village hall will have a low
carbon footprint.
Mr Jackson added: “Our Parish Plan required
that the Village Hall and its facilities should be evaluated. In
response to this a refurbishment programme was drawn up with
environmentally of friendly and renewable methods high on the agenda.
As
a community building which is used extensively in the heart of the
village it will be demonstrating to residents and visitors through this
refurbishment programme the importance of combating the effects of
climate change.”
Stiebel Eltron managing director Mark Mc- Manus said: “Community halls are traditionally old buildings with bad installation means they are cold, uncomfortable and very expensive to heat.
“A growing number of these buildings are being brought up to current green standards and funding is available to help with installations. Unlike other systems heat pumps can also provide both heating for a property, and cooling in the summer months.”
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