Albert Road Wesleyan Methodist Church in Penarth, built in 1907, has been converted into eight luxury apartments. Equipment from Johnson & Starley was used as part of the renovation, with WarmCair warm air heating, Aquastar hot water storage and Home ‘n Dry ventilation technology installed in the property of Brian and Marilyn Fisher.
Renovation features include attic style storage space and glass walled decks for split-level loft style accommodation, with much of the original church’s heritage, design and architectural features retained. These include the original rafters and coving, along with the bell tower – now a wine cellar with roof top terrace.
The Fisher’s open plan apartment features living room, kitchen and two bedrooms on an upper level of the renovated church with a dressing room and airing cupboard – later transformed to house the new Johnson & Starley Warmcair heater and Aquastar water storage cylinder.
The Warmcair heater and Aquastar water storage cylinder in an airing cupboard
Originally, electric underfloor heating had been installed to heat the apartment, but proved to be inadequate for the living space with very high ceilings. Fuel bills were ranging from £600-£700 a month, yet even with the addition of portable gas and electric fan heaters, the desired warmth levels were still not being achieved.
Looking for an alternative more effective and more energy efficient approach, a British Gas engineer suggested to the Fishers that a Johnson & Starley warm air heating system with provision of domestic hot water could prove a solution. Following a site visit and professional advice from Independent Heating System Designer Barry Williamson, a specification for a heating system, including detailed heat loss calculations, was drawn up. The solution was based on the installation of a Johnson & Starley WarmCair C20DW high efficiency combined warm air condensing heater with domestic hot water.
Barry Williamson comments: “The apartment presented some challenges in terms of designing and installing a warm air heating system that could do the job. It’s an unusually shaped apartment with high ceilings. This needed to be considered carefully when designing the installation of the required ductwork to distribute warmed air in the most effective way.”
Discreet outlet grills are strategically placed in each room
To maintain the look of the apartment, ducting was concealed around the apartment behind the ceiling in the bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms and en-suite, with discreet outlet grills in each room and two at floor level in the main living area. Extract vents remove the warm air that has risen to the wood panelled ceiling level and duct it back down to ground level for energy saving recirculation. The thermostat is in the main living room, in the centre of the wall below the balcony, so that the temperature reading gives a more accurate figure of room temperature.
Use of the WarmCair C20DW has the added advantage of domestic hot water provision rather than having to rely upon a standard tank with an immersion heater. With a thermal efficiency up to 98% and its 20kW output, the WarmCair C20DW is ideal for the size of the apartment and fulfils all of property’s requirements.
For extra energy efficiency it is fully modulating and includes a condensate pump as standard as well as the Cleanflow electronic air filtration option. “The WarmCair is a new generation of warm air heating, ideal for this type of heritage project. It performs at least as well as a modern gas fired wet heating system, but without the unsightly clutter of radiators. Furthermore with warm air heating there is no heat loss compared with that which is encountered when hot water is circulated through radiators to heat the house,” says Barry Williamson.
A 180 litre Aquastar hot water storage cylinder has been installed. It is made from high-grade stainless steel and retains heat using a 50mm layer of insulation. The capacity is more than enough to store the hot water generated by the WarmCair and required by the Fishers. It also features a 3kW backup immersion heater.
The Home ‘n Dry is a whole-house, positive input ventilation system that introduces a constant flow of dry air that reduces relative humidity. The system creates a positive pressure forcing the stale air to escape through the fabric of the building. It is achieving good results and the damp is being alleviated.
The complete installation was undertaken by Robin Hefter of Shackleton Wintle and it took 10 working days to complete due to the scale and challenge of the project. This included drilling the solid three foot thick church walls. Robin Heffter, MD of Shackleton-Wintle comments: “It was an interesting job with many technical challenges, but the results made everything worthwhile. Mr & Mrs Fisher were for the first time in four years warm this winter and are extremely happy with their warm and comfortable, fast-acting heating system.”
