Bushey

This 15th Century listed property was undergoing a significant renovation to bring it up into the 21st Century, including its first installation of central heating.

The client approached us to provide a 'green' design that was functional whilst being visually sympathetic to the heritage of the building. We explored all possibilities, from electric radiant heaters to ASHP and solar hot water, and offered budget sum estimates and avenues to explore various subsidies to ensure the most suitable solution was adopted.

In this instance, the most sustainable solution was to opt for a conventional gas boiler and traditional radiator system. This was primarily driven by the building listing, but also the client's drivers for the project. Gas is not necessarily the fossil fuel of the past with recent developments in the national network conversion to hydrogen!

To achieve a smart aesthetic appeal, we specified exposed copper pipework, including details for the precise routing right down to the positioning of pipe clips. The boiler was located in the first-floor bathroom to avoid compromising the ground floor living and kitchen spaces. We successfully achieved listed building consent for the client prior to works commencing.

The design is enabled for a potential extension giving the client the future flexibility they desired.

The new central heating system ensures this characterful property can continue to be enjoyed in comfort whilst bringing it up to modern standards.