A rural mansion in Surrey has had Polypipe Underfloor Heating installed throughout as part of it’s large scale, high specification build.
Renewable energy specialists, Worcester Renewable Energy Ltd., specified Polypipe, the UK’s leading manufacturer of above and below ground drainage, plastic plumbing and underfloor heating systems, to provide Burrows Lea Farmhouse with environmentally friendly heating in conjunction with a ground source heat pump.
Polypipe’s Red Floor Plate Solid Floor System was specified for the ground floor of the farmhouse due to its ability to provide an ambient temperature throughout the property and its environmental credentials over alternative heating systems. Although the systems works perfectly with combi boilers, in this instance it was used in conjunction with ground and air source heat pumps, which extract warmth from the air around the property or the earth in the garden. This process further reduces the amount of energy boilers need to use, consequently improving energy rating performance and reducing CO2 emissions.
Water based underfloor heating continues these environmental benefits by operating at an average water temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, rather than the 80 degrees used by traditional radiators, and therefore requires a lower temperature rise from the boiler. This means that to produce an equivalent heat output, the water can be stored at a much lower temperature, lowering household energy costs.
As under floor heating systems become more sophisticated, their cost efficiency is increasing. As previously set out, the system runs at lower temperatures to radiator systems, while individual rooms can be heated to the desired temperatures without needing to switch on the heating in every room.
The first floor of the mansion benefitted from Polypipe’s OverlayTM system, which is the ideal solution for heat pump installations and first floor rooms as it can be laid directly on top of existing floors offering much higher outputs at the low flow temperatures delivered by heat pumps than other systems that are installed beneath floors. At only 18mm in depth, the OverlayTM systems allows underfloor heating to be installed in projects where other underfloor systems would require expensive excavation or where the existing floor would be raised to an unacceptable level.
Darren Stockall at Worcester Renewable Energy, said: “When specifying the system for Burrows Lea Farmhouse, we needed to consider aesthetics as well as performance. The property has been designed and built to visually impress and wall mounted radiators would not be in keeping with the feel of the space. We also needed a system that would work alongside a ground source heat pump, for practical and environmental reasons. Polypipe’s underfloor heating systems were the obvious choice.”
Dave Foster, Heating Manager at Polypipe, added: “The owners of Burrows Lea Farmhouse needed a heating system that was cost effective, discreet and environmentally friendly. Working alongside Worcester Renewable Energy we were able to fulfil all their heating needs, providing the property with the perfect heating solution.”
