Member Article

Comrie PS takes major steps toward carbon reduction

A Perthshire primary school has recently taken a step into the future by pursuing a reduction of the school’s carbon footprint by 4.4 tonnes per year as well as providing a significant cost savings for the school’s annual energy bills through the installation of a state of the art heating system.

Based in a protected building of historic significance, Comrie Primary School was previously heated by a natural gas-fired plant room located within the school’s basement. Due to its old age and frequent flooding, numerous boiler outages resulted in a lack of primary heating for students while the boiler was out of commission and constant disruption to the school’s schedule.

Keen to reap the benefits of upgrading to a more efficient heating technology, Richard Welch, Mechanical Engineer at Perth & Kinross Council pursued a partnership with Northern Ireland-based BS Holdings to sensitively and cost effectively enhance the heating systems. Wishing to make the most from their fuel investment, the school required a state-of-the-art condensing gas-fired heating system which would deliver optimum efficiency in a time of austerity.

Recruiting the help of BSH to provide a highly efficient heating system for the historic school, the two organisations collaborated to develop a system that would not interfere with Comrie’s unique building requirements while also ensuring efficiency and reliability. The 50kw Sime condensing gas fired boilers used in the plant room enabled a large range of modulation to increase the property’s heating efficiency.

“BS Holdings is known for developing bespoke, efficient heating solutions for businesses and organisations across the UK, and our unique off-site building method for our plant rooms means that Comrie Primary School’s new heating solution was manufactured, delivered and commissioned in a seamless process that didn’t disturb the school’s day-to-day schedule,” said Brian Hood, Managing Director, BS Holdings.

Developed at BS Holdings in Antrim, Northern Ireland, the highly-efficient gas-fired plant room was dropped onto the Comrie site in one piece ready-to-use and linked with a pre-insulated underground pipe. The installation process took only 2 days, and the finishing touches included surrounding the cabin of the plant room with Kingspan insulated cladding for additional efficiency as well as to ensure the plant room blended with the school’s listed-status exterior.

“The project went really well for our school,” said Richard Welch, Mechanical Engineer, Perth & Kinross Council. “The plant room arrived on site on the agreed date and we were happy with the build quality. The convenience of off-site manufacturing has allowed varied and complex elements to be successfully completed on time, and we look forward to achieving the projected savings in energy bills and CO2 production.”

“We’re delighted with the end result of our project at Comrie Primary School,” added Brian Hood. “Not only has our team brought the school into the future of heating by offering efficient and reliable heat for its pupils and staff for years to come, but we’ve also assisted them in meeting carbon reduction figures which all schools will need to aim for in the near future.”

For more information on the bespoke heating solutions developed and supplied by BS Holdings visit www.bsh-limited.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Impact Communications .