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Press Release

NEAR CARBON-NEUTRAL HEATING  Photo shows one of the new boilers being installed

Somerset based housing association, SHAL Housing, has just fired up two innovative heating systems as a pilot project for heating in rural areas.

It is hoped these highly efficient systems will provide whole-house heating at an affordable cost and have low carbon emissions.

SHAL has many properties in villages where there is no gas and a group of tenants had expressed a wish to see affordable heating installed in those areas. One option looked at was a central heating system fired by wood pellets. SHAL decided upon a pilot project. Two tenants volunteered and have been collecting total fuel costs prior to installation, and will collect total fuel costs over the next year using the new fuel.

Working with Eco-Exmoor Ltd, SHAL has installed a normal central heating system, but fired by Olivieri Ergoflam domestic sized boilers supplied by TRECO Ltd. These boilers are electronically controlled and highly efficient. As John Thomson, SHAL’s Chief Executive, said “these boilers are light years away from the type of room heaters, fuelled by coal, that I grew up with. We anticipate they will produce very little ash, but the great thing is their net carbon dioxide output”. As part of the project, SHAL has measured the CO 2 output from a typical house with an efficient gas condensing boiler. Such a house produces 3.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. By contrast the houses with these new boilers are expected to produce only 0.4 tonnes.

SHAL has experienced problems with the project however, having to change supplier and boiler manufacturer along the way. Mr Thomson explained that “the problem with being at the cutting edge of, what is to Britain, a new technology, is that supplies, suppliers and parts are not readily available. This has been a steep learning curve for us, but the proof of its worth will be when we look at how the installation has worked at the one year review”.

SHAL was asssisted with costs with a grant from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, with the net cost for the two installations of around £12,500 plus VAT.