When the owners of Brewsholme Hall, the oldest surviving ancestral family home in Lancashire, England, began refurbishing an old tithe barn to create a venue for wedding receptions, they decided on a sustainable source of heat energy.
Due to its rural location, the owners Robert and Amanda Parker were keen to benefit from a more affordable and sustainable heat source than was provided by liquefied petroleum gas or oil and ground source heat pumps from Danfoss provided the answer. Heat pumps are effective both in summer and winter, day and night because the ground temperature remains constant at only a few feet below the surface.
Mrs Parker expects that for every unit of electricity used, the system will produce three times that in energy delivered: “We’re monitoring the system’s efficiency and so far it looks at being around 300% efficient – which is much higher than we could ever have expected with conventional heating methods.”
Concentrating the warmth at ground level
The heat pump system brings the building up to a comfortable temperature even when the winter weather drops well below freezing. The barn’s roof and floors were insulated, and while it was not possible to insulate the walls, the heat pump still delivers a high coefficient of performance.
As well as powering the underfloor heating, the heat pump supplies all the hot water for this sizeable venue which is spacious enough to seat parties of more than 200 guests. Underfloor heating is a particularly efficient method of heating the barn because the warmth is concentrated at ground level rather than rapidly moving up towards the open rafters. It also ensured that the character of the historic stone walls was maintained without the need for radiators.
Coefficient Renewable Heating Solutions Ltd of Sheffield, who are experienced in the supply of heat pumps to older properties, designed and installed the system in close cooperation with Danfoss.
Andrew Hubble, of Coefficient Renewable Heating Solutions, says: “A building such as the tithe barn benefits greatly from the gradual continuous heating provided by this type of heat pump system. We have found that with careful planning, the appropriate equipment and sympathetic installation it is possible to integrate a modern efficient heating system within an historic building.”
Lowering carbon footprints
As part of the renovation, the Parkers were keen to ensure that they created a venue with the lowest possible carbon footprint. In addition to the ground source heat pump, the barn development has been fitted with a rainwater harvesting system which supplies water to the toilet block, and a range of recycling measures have been put in place to ensure that all functions held there are as environmentally friendly as possible.
