Listed Building in Kent gets a new boiler and 12 zone iPhone control
The brief was to replace an old Potterton boiler in the basement with a new unit, and make the system more efficient. Spread over 3 floors and a cellar, this building is Grade 2 listed, and therefore represents a challenge when alterations to building services are required. We looked into replacing the boiler in the cellar with a modern condensing unit, and relining the chimney. However, there were adjacent chimney pots that were in use, and also there were plans for the cellar which meant that our customer would prefer the boiler to be resited to an otherwise unused store […]
Mono Evohome gets switched into Colour Evohome – plus 35% saving on gas bills
Our customer, a music composer and publisher, had engaged ourselves to replace their Ideal Classic boiler for a new Worcester Bosch 15Ri in early 2013, and asked for the new Honeywell Evohome to be fitted when it was launched this year (2014). We returned to service the boiler and upgrade the Evohome Mono (as it is now called) to the new Colour version, and add hot water control to the Megaflo HW cylinder. The new colour controller with iPhone control offers 12 zones instead of 8, so most rooms in this property are now individually temperature controlled. A confessed gadget […]
Listed building gets a new boiler and Evohome zoning
Our customer bought a fantastic building constructed in 1868, located in Carshalton, Surrey. Listed inside and outside, it was built to the requirements of the author Mark Rutherford (real name William Hale White). It incorporates many interesting features, for instance the inside walls are three bricks thick, because Mr White required silence and solitude in his work. The chimneys were all internal to the building, to minimise heat loss. A Victorian eco house, no less. We were asked to upgrade the existing installation of heating, which dated back to the 1980s. Although the radiators and pipework were in reasonable condition, […]
Worcester Bosch Warm Air?
Interesting split level house in Kenley For this post we are in the hills of Kenley. Surrey (UK). Our customer has recently bought this house, which is on four levels and was constructed in the early 1970s. The brief was to renew the warm air system (the customer did not want radiators) but put in a more efficient system that could also heat up a much larger hot water cylinder quickly. The existing system used a Lennox gas warm air heater and an electric heated hot water cylinder. The customer had noticed that although there was a prominent air duct […]
No place like home, EvoHome
This is a post closer to home. In fact it is my home! Our house in Edenbridge, Kent is heated by an Archie Kidd (Thermal) Ltd oil fired boiler, and has around 26 radiators. It was built in 1894 and heating it is an expensive business, because our insulation is hard to improve. In 2005 we installed Honeywell Hometronic. This is a system that uses remote control radiator valves to divide the house into 16 areas of controlled heating. This enabled us to reduce the heating level in rooms we weren’t using in the day, but warm them in the […]
Large old listed country house – 155Kw boiler system renewal
We’ve just replaced the boiler plant in a very large country residence in Sussex (July 2013). The old oil fired Worcester Bosch system heated the house, which was mainly comprised of 60 yr old radiators and large bore steel pipe, as an entire single entity without any zone control. The oil bill (no mains gas here) was £12K per annum. Our customer looked at a number of options, but liked our approach best. Our unique proposal was to improve the efficiency of the boiler room by using weather compensation and load sharing – reduce consumption of oil and increase comfort, […]
Hometronic system transforms comfort in Godalming property
Godalming is a beautifully rural part of Surrey, UK. This house in located in an isolated position, and was purchased by the present owners a couple of years ago. One of the things that had never been successful with this lovely house was the heating. Radiators worked, then they didn’t work at all, seemingly at random. There were a few electric and LPG heaters evident when I did the home survey – it was a cold house. Our customer is a senior creative figure in the electronic gaming arts industry, and he wanted to have zone based control of […]
Large Townhouse in Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace, South London, UK, was a Victorian haven for the well to do, formerly known as Sydenham Hill. The area has been named after the amazing glass and iron building designed by Joseph Paxton, which is no longer with us having been destroyed by fire in 1936. The ornamental gardens associated with the huge exhibition area live on in rather reduced grandeur; the two massive water towers which powered the ornamental fountains and survived the fire were dismantled in the 2nd World War because it was believed they were being used as bombing navigational aids. The area has […]
Viessmann Boiler upgrade and Honeywell EvoHome
Today we are removing a 12 year old Keston condensing gas boiler (don’t see many lasting that long!) and replacing it with a Viessmann WB1B 19Kw compact boiler. Our customer lives in Redhill, Surrey, and is what you would call an early adopter, as he understand technology and the benefits it can bring. He fitted a Trisave condensing boiler in the mid 80’s, then the Keston and now wanted a well made reliable boiler. Enter the Viessmann! He can’t believe how quiet the Viessmann is! We are also changing all the controls, fitting a few new radiators, and fitting […]
An unusual warm air job using a Bosch Greenstar boiler
This is a house in a remote location near Maidstone, Kent. Some 200 years old, it was bought in a semi derelict condition over 35 years ago by the present owner, whose late husband was an architect. He remodelled and partially rebuilt the house, retaining all the period charm, but incorporating modern upgrades, including adding ducted warm air heating. The heating plant room was around the back of the house in an external cupboard, and the original warm air unit (oil fired) was replaced around 14 years ago by a local contractor. This 1990s unit, a Lennox oil fired cabinet, […]
