A Potterton Commercial Eurocondense two boiler has been installed to provide energy-efficient heating at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, during a refurbishment of the Guest Hall, which is the castle’s premier banqueting suite.
Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England and home to the Percy family, Earls and Dukes of Northumberland, since 1309. More recently, the Castle has achieved international renown as the setting for Hogwarts School in the Harry Potter films. The Guest Hall, which features a spectacular hammer-beam roof and traditional, stylish interior, is one of the main buildings of the English architect Salvin’s 19th century restoration in the classical Renaissance style which transformed the interior décor. Now, in a 21st century refurbishment, the existing heating system has been replaced with state-of-the-art technology to provide greater comfort for guests and to keep running costs to a minimum.
The Guest Hall banqueting suite was formerly heated by cast iron pipe work in purpose made ducts covered by a steel grid and by convectors fed from a boiler plant in another part of the castle. This installation had reached the end of its useful life, and as part of the extensive refurbishment of the Guest Hall, a new heating installation has been installed.
This comprises of new finned heating pipe work in the existing perimeter ducts, covered with a painted cast iron continuous strip grille chosen by the Duchess.
Steel panel radiators are fitted on the Minstrels Gallery. To ensure the newly laid oak floor is maintained at a constant temperature an under floor heating system is installed as a separate zone. A Potterton Eurocondense two 500 kW modular gas boiler serving both systems is now installed in the basement plant room beneath the banqueting reception area. A spokesman for consulting engineers A.E. Robb & Associates commented: “On projects such as Alnwick Castle where there are few or no qualified on-site maintenance personnel, the range of boilers offered by Potterton Commercial fit the bill as they are user friendly. A change to control parameters is easy to the layman, and after sales service is good. In this instance, space limitations in the basement boiler house virtually selected the Eurocondense model for us.”
The Potterton Eurocondense two 500kW boiler supplied has a nominal output of 504.6kW at flow/return temperatures of 50o/30oC. Featuring the latest developments in heating technology, this range of boilers achieves exceptional energy efficiency of up to 107% net as well as ultra-low NOx levels, exceeding Class 5. Modular, floor-standing boilers, the Eurocondense two range has been designed to pass through a standard 600mm doorway, avoiding the time and costs associated with dismantling and re-assembly. The boilers are specifically designed with internal lifting points to facilitate installation and eliminate the need for onsite lifting equipment.