Listed properties are notoriously difficult to heat and keeping them warm in an efficient, effective and environmentally friendly manner is a tall order.
They are often very poorly insulated and lose heat very quickly- an issue exacerbated in very large buildings as gas radiators can take an age to heat a room and then that heat is lost almost immediately once the heating is turned off.
This problem is particularly common in religious buildings where congregations are often uncomfortably cold during the winter months. With such a cavernous space to heat and with several small rooms to cater for too, the solutions may need a little more thought than a standard house.
Another issue is that many areas of churches are only used sporadically- so why waste energy heating them all the time? We are approached by Churches on a regular basis and with very good reason- infrared heating can be the best all-round solution for heating such uniquely challenging spaces (due to age, construction, wiring and the delicacy needed when planning and installing). Here we’ll detail a case study from one of our projects completed in April this year which may help you decide if infrared heating is the perfect solution for you.
Case Study: Mansfield Church Infrared Heating Installation
Initial Enquiry
The Jigsaw team recently completed a three-week installation at Mansfield Baptist Church, Nottingham. We were originally approached along with five other companies to offer our solution for heating multiple rooms of various sizes. One of the main issues was that there were so many rooms, each of which would require different infrared solutions. The previous convection/gas system was taking too long to heat the various spaces and some rooms never quite came up to a comfortable temperature. The areas for installation on the first phase were the:
- Reception area
- Manager’s office
- Central corridorNave (10m+ high vaulted ceiling)
- Balcony
- Vestry office
- Parent and baby room
- 3 x large meeting rooms
- 3 x bathrooms
Heater Selection and Demonstration
From our first visit, we knew that our Mid Range of Infrared heaters would be required for the larger spaces and that our Made in Britain Infrared Panels would be best for the others. Our team utilised their expertise in calculating the requirements of the rooms including the heaters and control systems needed, as well as confirming an effective installation process. Once an initial estimation had been made, the custodians of the church visited one of our previous church installations in the Midlands. This gave them a sense of what IR heat feels like and how quickly it can heat a large space- providing confidence in their investment. Two demonstration heaters were also loaned to the church to aid their decision. We know that with Infrared, you need to feel it to know what it does and how far it reaches.
The Installation Process
Due to the size of the installation, the incoming feed of power to the church had to be updated. The electrical company were very quick to complete the work and Jigsaw worked with the church to advise them on their requirements for the installation. The whole installation took a team of 3 electricians 14 working days to complete. This was mainly due to the number of heaters required and because of the shear amount of cabling and additional consumer unit updates or rewiring needed. The church custodians were impressed at how well this was all hidden from view and our control supplier noted that it was one of the cleanest installations he had seen.
Controls
One of the most important elements of our installations is always the control system. Without a well-engineered system, it could cost an extra 20-50% in the recipient’s energy bills.
As part of our planning, we specify that each room is controlled independently. This allows for each room to be set at different temperatures when required. The clever addition to our system means that this can be controlled in the room, on the app and also by movement in the room.
The system looks for a number of things before turning on the power:
- What is the required temperature?
- Is the room required to be heated at this time?
- Is there anyone in the room?
- Can I override this in the room? (Tamper proof maximum temperature settings and time controls)
Why heat a room if no one is using it? With our setup you don’t need to make that decision. The control system does it for you. This saves energy and gives you confidence that the heating is being used wisely as the system will go to a lower fall-back mode when the room is not occupied. With our training session at the end of the installation, we helped set up and demonstrate the control system with the custodians who were surprised at how simple it was to have all this control in the room, on the computer and on the app.
Results
Thanks to Jigsaw, the Church now have a system that warms up quickly. Infrared heating heats objects and people directly within five minutes of switching on. This ensures that you feel the warmth much quicker than you do with convection-based heating systems. The heating is proactive and targeted, resulting in less energy wastage. This is now saving the Church a lot of money on their energy bills- so much so they are already looking at installing IR throughout the rest of the building.
Feedback
The custodians of the church let us know the reasons they went with Jigsaw for the completion of their project:
- Clear presentation of the heating requirements
- Support throughout the decision-making process
- Clear designs for the installation
- Clear costings for each room
- A tutorial of the control system at the completion of the installation
- Staff that cared about the process from start to finish
- Quality products that worked as specified
It was a pleasure working with the custodians of Mansfield Baptist Church and we’re so pleased they are elated with the outcome. In their online review they welcomed any visitors to the church who want to see if IR may be the right solution for them and we’re so pleased with their recommendation.
