A residential education centre in Dorset is set to save a considerable amount on its energy bills after transferring to biomass heating. Hooke Court, Beaminster, has installed two Windhager wood pellet boilers to provide the heating and hot water for the school.
The building complex, which is believed to date from the mid 1600’s, was unused and in need of repair when it was bought by Peter and Mandy Cooper in 1994. It has been converted into a residential study centre that provides both high quality education and accommodation to school and college groups. The Windhager boilers contribute to the experience of visitors at Hooke Court by maintaining a constant and comfortable temperature throughout the building.
To fulfil the heating demand of the school, MCS approved installer AP Chant Renewables Ltd was contracted to install an efficient biomass heating system. The company provided a detailed quotation and scheme design using renewable energy, utilising a Windhager wood pellet cascade boiler system. Two of Windhager’s BioWIN Excel 60kW wood pellet boilers were installed in a newly constructed external plant room, as a 120kW cascade system with eight suction pellet probes with a change over unit and bulk pellet hopper.
Mr Dylan Cooper of Hooke Court explained how the installation of the Windhager boilers had improved the heating in the school: “Before we installed biomass, it was a struggle to get the buildings up to temperature. The Windhager products are superb; they do their job efficiently and effectively and the children have really noticed the difference”. The new biomass system is also significantly contributing to energy savings at Hooke Court, and Mr Cooper looks forward to the benefits of the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. This helps to off-set the capital cost of the boiler and provides an income to the business in the long term based on the level of heat energy produced.
During the winter period both boilers will be in use whereas in the spring and summer the boilers will alternate, ensuring that not just one boiler is doing all the work. Wood pellets were chosen as the fuel that would provide the greatest efficiency, reduced running costs and carbon savings.
Extensively tried and tested, BioWIN Excel’s pellet heating technology has been adapted especially for high performance, focusing on maximum operational safety, fuel efficiency and economic operation for cost savings.
The high output BioWIN Excel is available in outputs of 35kW, 45kW, and 60kW and is available in a cascade version up to 240kW, making it the ideal heating solution for large buildings, hotels, schools, public buildings, apartment blocks, and district heating systems. The BioWIN Excel is also available as a pre-packaged plant room for a total turn key solution for an energy efficient renewable heating solution.
