Youth Centre cuts gas bills by over 80 percent and saves almost £3,000 per year, thanks to heating system upgrade

A heating system upgrade by Stove Shop immediately saved Kingsteignton Youth Centre almost £3,000 per year on gas bills – a reduction of over 80 percent– and also cut its electric bill. The Centre also became more popular with the local youngsters and organisations who meet there, as previously cold rooms are now warm and comfortable in winter.

Before the upgrade, the Centre's gas bill was £875 per quarter, yet people constantly complained that it was too cold – they even had to use additional electric heating. After the upgrade, the quarterly gas bill was £150 and it also saves money by not using electric fires.

The Centre has the same underfloor heating system pipe system as before, but now the heat is delivered where and when it is needed. For example, a much lower temperature is needed in an area where teenagers are playing energetic games than in a room being used by a toddler group.

“We introduced several features to make the system highly responsive, efficient and cost-effective to run,” explained Alan Gregory, who designed the system for Stove Shop in conjunction with consultant Arthur Richards of Advanced Hot Water & Heating Design, of Pontypool.

Stove Shop improved the heating control by installing seven Honeywell programmable controllers, one for each of seven heating zones. The centre manager commented that it is now very simple to set individual times and temperatures for each heating zone, using the Honeywell controllers. The set temperature in each zone is programmed to change automatically at various times during the day, and from day to day, so rooms are heated to the appropriate temperature for the activity. It is also easy to override a set temperature, if necessary.

The controllers have a built-in energy-saving “optimum start” feature which saves energy by allowing the user to set the time at which the desired temperature is to be reached, rather than the heating “on” time, so reducing fuel consumption on all but the coldest days of the year.

“The most important plumbing improvement was to add a new feed and return from the boiler room to manifolds in the heating cupboard on the other side of the building. All seven Honeywell controllers can switch the boilers. “We use Honeywell controllers and other components because they are the most reliable . Naturally, all the motorised valves in the system are also from Honeywell.

“For system efficiency, we replaced a single large boiler with two units, nominally 80,000 Btu each, whose combined output equals the maximum system demand. If the demand is low one boiler runs to meet it and they are automatically rotated to even out run times,” he said.

The underfloor heating circuits are supplied via a Honeywell 28mm thermostatic mixing valve. This saves energy by blending hot water from the boilers with warm water from the heating system return manifold to deliver a constant temperature to the heating circuits.

Another detail that enhances efficiency is the automatic bypass circuit. This avoids the boiler cycling on and off, which is inefficient and causes unnecessary wear. Alan Gregory explained, “When the heating circuit temperature is reached, the automatic bypass valve diverts boiler water from the mixing valve into a bypass loop, allowing the boiler to keep going. This provides a large body of water to provide continuous running while avoiding short boiler running periods.

“The Centre's sports hall is heated by an air handling unit in the roof, but it was on a timer that sent hot water unnecessarily around a big loop, wasting energy, when there was no call for heat. We installed Honeywell valves which interlock with the boiler to switch it off when heat is not needed.”

The greater comfort provided by the new heating controls has made a huge difference to the Centre. The Centre's manager said it has now established for itself a vital place at the heart of the local community. “We have The Stove Shop and the Honeywell controls to thank for that.”