As a company, Remeha is committed to designing and manufacturing cleaner, smarter, greener heating solutions that improve our lives and add value to our world. So we were pleased to sponsor the Renewable Project of the Year category, awarded to the installation that the judges consider the most outstanding, genuinely innovative, carbon cutting renewable project of the last twelve months.

Pictured above presenting the award is National Sales Manager Chris Meir (4^th from right), with the worthy winners, Kensa Engineering in association with New Linx Housing Association for the Brackenborough Road Ground Source Heat Pumps Project.

An ambitious £11million Building Programme is underway at Taunton Academy in Somerset to extend the original site and provide the very latest in education technology and initiatives for its 1000 students ahead of the start of the 2013/2014 academic year. Delivering energy saving, ‘green’ heating for the new build development is Remeha Commercial’s revolutionary super condensing Quinta Eco Plus heating system.

With sustainability a subject specialism at Taunton Academy, the Governing Board was keen to see an exemplary sustainable approach applied throughout the specification process. Amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations for new-build developments require an overall improvement in the annual carbon emission rate of 25% relative to 2006 standards. With heating and hot water accounting for nearly half our energy use and 40% of our greenhouse gas emissions, it’s a key financial and environmental factor in the specification process. However, low to zero carbon renewable energy equipment still requires considerable financial investment and the payback period is long, so this can pose a problem where budgets are tight. At Taunton Academy, M&E Consultant Simon Luff of F.P Hurley and Sons specified the Remeha Quinta Eco Plus, a technologically-advanced, ‘green’ heat recovery system that would significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions whilst offering fast financial payback.

The Quinta Eco Plus heating system consists of the market-leading Remeha Quinta Pro, a fully modulating commercial condensing boiler, and the Eco Plus, a patented passive flue gas heat recovery device that recovers waste energy equivalent to up to 15% of the gross input. This ground-breaking system ensures maximum condensing at full output at all times, to offer a new level of full time attainable seasonal efficiency of up to 107% NCV at 82/71°C flow and return temperatures.

Taunton Academy’s new three-storey building houses external and internal sports changing facilities, a central Information Communication Technology Hub, an open plan learning space, a dedicated Design and Technology zone including a pro-kitchen teaching area, and an entire second floor dedicated to music, art and the performing arts, complete with state-of-the-art facilities. Equally impressive in terms of advanced technology is the energy and carbon saving Quinta Eco Plus heating system which ensures the perfect learning temperature for the students at all times.

For the new development at Taunton Academy, a Quinta Eco Plus 115kW system was specified as the lead boiler at all times with a high efficiency Quinta Pro 115kW as back up for maximum payback.

“The Quinta Eco Plus system was the favoured solution to meeting the school’s requirement for environmentally-friendly, sustainable heating and our need to comply with the carbon reduction requirements of Part L. It will also mean considerably lower operational bills for the academy from now on,” pointed out consultant Simon Luff.

A further benefit of the Quinta Eco Plus is its compact dimensions. Mr Luff commented, “We find that plant rooms today are small – especially new-build developments. The Quinta Eco Plus helps us make more efficient use of the plant space.”

The Quinta Eco Plus is available in outputs of 65kW complete with two passive flue gas heat recovery (PFGHR) units, 90kW with four PFGHR units and 115kW with four PFGHR units. Its flexible, modular design means that it can be fitted in cascade to meet the individual output requirements of a building. The Quinta Eco Plus comes pre-configured and pre-plumbed in a rigid, purpose-made frame with multi-directional wheels and adjustable legs for easy installation and secure positioning.

Remeha boilers help school cut gas consumption from 660,995kWh to 273,148kWh

As education budgets tighten and local councils feel the squeeze, any operational savings a school can make are welcome. So when Farley Junior School succeeded in more than halving its energy usage and carbon emissions by installing energy saving Remeha Quinta Pro boilers, the school and its local authority, Luton Borough Council (LBC), were delighted.

Two years ago, VSRW, were commissioned by LBC to design the most energy saving heating system for Farley Junior School. Consultant Rob Windrum at VSRW specified three Remeha Quinta Pro 115 condensing boilers on a cascade system to replace the school’s aging atmospheric boilers as the first phase of the project.

A year later, the second phase of the project was completed with the addition of low temperature radiators and fan heaters. “The low temperature heating allows the boilers to operate at the reduced maximum temperature of 50/40⁰C, achieving maximum efficiency and energy savings at lower installation costs than conventional systems,” explained Rob Windrum. “We have found this system to be particularly suitable for schools as the added benefit of the low temperatures is the removal of any scald hazard from exposed pipework.”

Farley Junior School’s energy data shows that gas consumption at the school plummeted from 660,995kWh to 273,148kWh with carbon savings in the region of 53 tonnes a year.

“We are naturally over the moon at both the financial and environmental results,” said Diane Mascot, Business and Resource Manager at Farley Junior School. “In fact, we are still reaping the benefits of our energy saving heating system – our latest Display Energy Certificate shows that we have reduced our carbon footprint by a further 15 per cent this year.”

The market-leading Remeha Quinta Pro range (outputs 8 – 114kW) are fully modulating condensing boilers, offering high efficiencies of 108.9% NCV ∆T 50/30˚C and excellent ultra low NOx emissions for environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient heating and hot water production.

“Remeha Quinta Pros are reliable, energy efficient condensing boilers matched in quality by Remeha’s friendly and efficient customer service,” added Rob Windrum. “Installing the Quinta Pros in a modular design on a cascade system allowed us to match the heat output demand in less than half the space.”

Remeha’s showstopper service ensures curtains up at Theatre Royal Windsor

Providing a warm and comfortable environment for its audiences is high on the list of every theatre building manager. So when the historic Theatre Royal Windsor needed to replace its ageing, failing sectional boiler, Technical and Production Building Manager Gary Pell knew that accurate planning combined with excellent products, service and execution would be crucial to ensure the successful completion of such a tightly scheduled project within the theatre’s one week ‘dark period’ before the start of the next production.

Theatre Royal Windsor was fortunate to have an excellent team in Tencer Ltd Mechanical & Electrical Services, the theatre’s maintenance contractor, leading boiler manufacturer and supplier Remeha Commercial and the burner supplier EOGB Energy Products, who worked fast to meet the tight deadline and get the show on the road.

“All the teams working on this boiler replacement were amazing, pulling out all the stops, working late and even delivering additional parts by motorcycle courier,” said Gary Pell. “We’re delighted that the new boiler is in and working efficiently.”

Remeha Commercial prides itself on its prompt and reliable service and excellent product range. Its new Trade Counter Service at the company’s Wokingham headquarters offers even greater flexibility to its customers, providing immediate access to the Remeha catalogue directory, from spare parts and flue accessories to complete boilers. The service also allows customers to collect pre-ordered goods in place of delivery.

Building on the success of its existing rig system packages, Remeha Commercial has launched a bespoke rig system design and manufacture service for its market-leading low carbon, low NOx condensing boilers. The new bespoke service has been introduced to offer specifiers increased flexibility in floor planning design through extended options that enable them to match more accurately the desired heat output, whatever the constraints of the plant room.

Remeha Commercial was one of the first heating manufacturers to introduce the concept of a pre-assembled rig system unit. The first of many advantages is the greater reliability it delivers due to the modular structure of the boilers. Installation is also quicker and easier as the boilers are delivered on site in a pre-assembled wheeled unit. This reduces downtime and on-site labour which results in greater productivity and efficiency for the customer. Quality control is also improved as the pre-configured unit is pre-tested and delivered as a whole system, rather than individual components.

The new bespoke rig system design and manufacture service offers all these advantages and more. The new added flexibility of design provides specifiers with an unlimited choice of configuration options, making it easier for them to specify the required heat output with greater accuracy and thereby providing an improved service for their customers. Once designed, the rig system is built on a rigid wheeled box frame manufactured from fully welded Epoxy Powder Coated 40mmSQ for easy manoeuvrability and connection to the existing on-site system. The unit has fully adjustable legs for levelling after final positioning.

Remeha Commercial MD Mark Northcott commented:

“At Remeha Commercial we are committed to providing added value service to our customers. The small dimensions of plant rooms can pose a real problem to specifiers especially when the heat output demand is high. Added to that is the drive for businesses to achieve greater efficiency and increased productivity, all of which requires from us products that are easier and faster to install in order to reduce downtime. We believe that our new high quality bespoke rig system design and manufacture service will provide the perfect solution to all of these issues for our consumers and end-users.”

For more information on Remeha Commercial’s bespoke rig system design and manufacture service and complete rig system packages in linear (2 or 3 boilers) and back-to-back (4 or 6 boilers) configurations, call 0118 978 3434 or email boilers@remeha.co.uk.

The £4.4mSpittalPrimary Schooldevelopment is part of South Lanarkshire Council’s Primary Schools Modernisation Programme, an £812m investment in primary school estate providing state-of-the-art schools across the region. And when it comes to heating, biomass is proving the flexible, economical, high performance solution.

With attractive Government RHI tariffs available for heat generated by biomass, South Lanarkshire Council’s Construction Partner on this school, Lend Lease, specified a biomass heating system incorporating a Remeha 120kW biomass boiler backed up by Remeha’s market-leading Quinta Pro condensing boiler. Accreditation under RHI was achieved by the Council on first submission.

The biomass boiler is fuelled by wood pellets manufactured inScotlandfrom by-products of the wood industry, which in the past would have been land-filled. These are stored in a purpose-built fuel store located next to the boiler house.

Staff and pupils alike atSpittalPrimary Schoolare delighted with the biomass boiler which is delivering reliable space throughout their new building. Daily operation and maintenance is carried out by the school janitor, Vicky Gardiner, with monthly inspections and maintenance provided by Angus Biofuels. “It’s no problem at all to maintain,” said Ms Gardiner. “The touchscreen controls mean that it is easy and straightforward to control.”

The Spittal Primary School installation is one of a number of projects on which Remeha Commercial and Lend Lease have collaborated in recent years as part of the Primary Schools Modernisation Programme.

The Castleoak Group has specialised in construction and development for the care sector since 1996. To date, Castleoak has built more than 150 care homes and 3,000 apartments in extra care schemes and care villages throughout the UK for the country’s leading not-for-profit and commercial care operators. The company is at the forefront of sustainable development within the care sector, having delivered the first BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and first Passivhaus care homes in the UK.

When designing a building for the care sector, the comfort and well-being of the residents are paramount, hence the importance of reliable heating. Castleoak approached Remeha Commercial three years ago. Since then, Remeha boilers have been installed in various Castleoak care homes across the country and the robust, high performing, low NOx Remeha condensing boilers have proved reliable and energy efficient.

“Creating sustainable buildings is of increasing concern to our customers and care home investors, for both environmental and commercial reasons, as energy prices continue to rise,” said Castleoak Construction Director, Colwyn Knight.

A recent example is at Hurstwood View at Five Ash Down near Uckfield, where three Remeha Quinta Pro 115 boilers have been fitted in a space-saving cascade package to create a continuously warm, comfortable environment for the residents and endless hot water at the turn of the tap. The residents’ comfort and safety are achieved by the installation of low surface temperature radiators. A similar heating system has been installed at Plumstead Lodge in London.

At Hurstwood View, Plumstead Lodge and at other Castleoak care homes across the UK, Remeha boilers are providing economical, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally-friendly heating and hot water delivery.

The Remeha Quinta Pro is a market leading, fully modulating compact gas condensing boiler with ultra low NOx and carbon emissions and high efficiency levels of 108.9% NCV at 50/30°C. It has been designed for easy and flexible installation for single or multiple configurations, and can be wall hung or installed free standing on a suitable frame, with the added options of skid mounted systems and cascade packages.

Since Bath Rugby announced its move to a new headquarters back in 2010, Farleigh House has undergone an extensive renovation to transform the historic 19^th century listed building and grounds into an elite training centre fit for a top 21^st century club.

The sympathetic conversion of this one-time home, school and place of work has successfully preserved its original splendour whilst providing every modern facility necessary for a successful rugby club. Leading heating manufacturer Remeha Commercial is delighted to be playing its part in providing warmth and comfort for Bath Rugby – and plentiful hot showers at the turn of the tap.

Outside Farleigh House, two superb natural pitches and a half size artificial pitch have replaced the former gardens. Inside, the former chapel has been transformed into a state-of-the-art, air-conditioned gym, with two Remeha Quinta Pro 65 condensing boilers heating two 500l Remtank cylinders to deliver abundant hot water for the post training showers.

The one-time derelict outbuildings have been transformed into the Long Barn which now houses changing and showering facilities for all of the players, a strapping area, medical centre and rehab space. A comfortable temperature is maintained throughout by underfloor heating and radiators fed by two Remeha Quinta Pro 90 condensing boilers which also provide primary heating to a 2,500l solar cylinder.

Responsible for the heating refurbishment was Simon Bryant Jefferies of JEM heating Ltd., a former Bath Rugby player and ardent supporter of the club. “We have an excellent relationship with the Remeha Commercial team having worked with them for years on a variety of commercial heating projects. Their products are excellent as is their service. They proved extremely helpful on this project – you can’t have asked for better.”

The emphasis at Farleigh House is on achieving excellence and commitment both on and off the pitch. Where the heating and hot water are concerned, the Remeha boilers certainly score high!

Project Architect Simon Pugh-Jones (ARENA 1865 Limited) confirms, “The end users are delighted, as am I. We knew we were setting a very demanding brief and yet these boilers exceeded our expectations – so much so that we always make sure to show visitors round the plant rooms too!”

The market-leading Remeha Quinta Pro range (outputs 8 – 114kW) are fully modulating condensing boilers, offering high efficiencies of 108.9% NCV ∆T 50/30˚C and excellent ultra low NOx emissions for environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient heating and hot water production.

Sales enquiries: 0118 978 3434

www.remeha.co.uk/product/quinta-pro-range

The new Learning Centre, which houses a range of land-based courses from animal care and equine studies to veterinary nursing and forestry and countryside management, represents the College’s commitment to further developing the land-based facilities in the area, investing in the rural economy and moving towards creating the first truly ‘green’ campus in the country.

In addition to the Remeha 120kW biomass boiler, the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ building adds structured insulated panels, cedar cladding, a green roof, solar panels, photo-voltaic panels, a rainwater harvester system and a passive ventilation system to its green credentials.

When it comes to heating, biomass systems using woodchips or pellets are an increasingly popular low carbon alternative, typically giving carbon reductions of up to 90 per cent compared with fossil-fuel alternatives. The PA@G Learning Centre is set in the Glynllifon Estate amongst 500 acres of woodland. Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor manufactures woodchips from its own timber to fuel the Remeha biomass boiler and ensure sustainable, low carbon heating.

“Our aim throughout has been to create the most environmentally-friendly, sustainable building possible,” commented Sam Faire, Estates Manager for Buildings, Operational and Projects at Grwp Llandrillo-Menai, the overseeing body for the three colleges of Llandrillo, Menia and Meirion-Dwyfor. “So it’s a satisfying achievement to be able to use our own natural resources to fuel the heating system.”

Certainly, for the College, using their own solid biomass for heating represents an economical, renewable solution, particularly at a time when fossil fuel prices are continuing to soar. The College is in the process of installing a heat meter ahead of applying for RHI accreditation. “Once RHI payments kick in, we anticipate that payback times on the biomass boiler will fall even faster,” added Sam Faire.

A fossil fuel system is often specified alongside the biomass boiler to manage peak demands. At PA@G, the Remeha biomass boiler is backed up by two low NOx Remeha Quinta Pro condensing boilers in a ‘green’ heating system that guarantees energy efficient heat delivery at all times.

The Remeha range of biomass boilers are designed for exceptional durability and reliability. Automatic de-ashing and automatic heat exchanger cleaning facilities speed up operation time. Features such as automatic error messages via email, remote monitoring via the internet and graph records of all the heating parameters accessible on the internal memory simplify the monitoring process. With new touch screen controls and flexible control via computer, tablet or smart phone, Remeha biomass boilers are now even easier to operate and monitor.

With over 500 biomass heating systems installed in the UK to date, Remeha Commercial is well versed in all aspects of supplying biomass boilers, often in conjunction with our eco-friendly, low NOx commercial gas boiler ranges, to deliver maximum efficiency, low carbon heating into schools and colleges, new and old.

Sales enquiries: 0118 978 3434

Across Europe, we read of strikes and demonstrations in response to harsh austerity measures. Here in the UK, the public sector struggles on in the face of brutal cuts, challenged with making savings wherever possible to stretch the reduced budgets. In this deep financial crisis it is perhaps natural to question any financial outlays, yet where energy efficiency is concerned, it pays to spend money in order to save money, to ‘invest to save’.

Heating is a case in point. Together with hot water production, heating accounts for nearly half of the UK energy use. According to figures from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), it will have cost the nation a whopping £33billion in 2012 alone – and fuel prices are continuing to rise. The UK has some of the oldest buildings in Europe, many of them in the public sector, many with old, inefficient, wasteful heating systems in place literally blowing money up the chimney as they ineffectually warm their buildings. For organisations such as these, investing in energy efficient measures for heating is the perfect starting point to making important fuel and carbon savings.

At the heart of the UK’s energy strategy is the move towards a low carbon nation and the Government is encouraging the uptake of renewable technologies for heating to achieve this long term goal. Yet these technologies require substantial financial investment and are still financially dependent on public funding – which may or may not last. The need to reduce our energy consumption, both for financial and environmental reasons, however, remains unchanged: the launch of DECC’s first national Energy Efficiency Strategy aims to kick start “a revolution” in UK energy efficiency across all sectors and help organisations make important fuel and carbon savings in this time of financial crisis.

Where heating is concerned, the simple, affordable, pragmatic and cost-effective approach to substantial energy savings is still the condensing boiler. This is particularly true in older buildings where often refurbishment is the only possible energy saving option. The good news is that the modern condensing boiler has come a long way. Manufacturers have continued to innovate, developing smaller, lighter, more versatile and adaptable, fully modulating gas condensing boilers that offer higher efficiencies and cleaner combustion than ever before.

From an environmental perspective, upgrading to a modern, high efficiency condensing boiler would make rapid progress in carbon reduction a real prospect for some 60 per cent of the existing building stock. The cleaner, greener condensing boiler could reduce the levels of harmful greenhouse gases such as CO2 and NOx by at least 90 per cent, which would go a considerable way to meeting our steep carbon reduction target of 80 per cent by 2050 on 1990 levels.

The financial incentive is equally compelling. Upgrading to an energy efficient boiler can cut fuel costs by around 50 per cent. Add the appropriate advanced control to maximise the efficiency of the boiler and this figure could increase. Or leapfrog technology with a heating system that incorporates heat recovery devices and achieve even greater savings with a new attainable seasonal efficiency of 107 per cent NCV at 82/71°C flow and return temperatures.

If the initial outlay is a problem, it is worth investigating the Carbon Trust-approved financing schemes available from some manufacturers for approved energy efficiency products. Typically, payments are offset against the energy savings so that the products not only pay for themselves in the first year or so but continue to deliver savings on a yearly basis.

As for the inconvenience factor, the downtime involved in removing the old system to install the new, again manufacturers have risen to the challenge to make refurbishment projects quicker and easier to carry out. The modern boiler is smaller and lighter, able to fit into any existing space or through any doorway, and often supplied on wheels for easier manoeuvrability. Some models can even be disassembled where access is particularly difficult, to be quickly reassembled inside the plant room.

As fuel prices continue to rise, the viability of energy saving heating products becomes ever more tenable. For while the cost to upgrade to energy efficient products remains fixed, the savings they deliver will increase exponentially as fuel costs continue to rocket. Think about it – investing in energy saving heating would deliver substantially greater payback than investing savings in a bank at the current rate of interest savings!

Investing in energy saving heating is a ‘win-win’ proposition, a self-supporting strategy towards energy efficiency. As fuel consumption is reduced, operational costs will fall with organisations that operate several buildings benefitting greatly from increased savings. Invest in an energy efficient heating scheme in one location and the savings it will deliver can subsidise further energy savings in other buildings. Where energy efficient heating is concerned, ‘invest to save’ makes perfect, sustainable and financial sense.