Modern Church Heating Project - Dunphy joins forces with DRU
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St Columba’s church is now heated by DRU Kamara powered flue wall heaters |
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Much of the church’s wall surface is made of glass |
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St Columba’s is a fine example of 1960s church architecture |
Christopher Dunphy Ecclesiastical and DRU have combined to supply a new heating solution to a large Roman Catholic Church in Chester.
St Columba’s was built in the early 1960s and is an impressive example of church architecture from that period. It can accommodate up to 600 people.
Most of the structure consists of laminated timber portal frames with a vaulted ceiling. There is very little insulation and some of the walls are made entirely from glass.
This means that heat loss of the building is considerable. Prior to the new installation, the church had to frequently leave its heaters on all weekend during the winter, resulting in fuel costs that were unsustainable.
Christopher Dunphy specified 10 new DRU Kamara 16 powered flue gas heaters. This delivers 160 kW of heat to the main body of the church, with a heat up time of only 1 hour.
Kamara heaters have an efficiency rating of over 90%. They are designed for churches, schools and other public buildings. They are powered flue, room sealed appliances. This draws air from outside the building for combustion and expels waste gases.
In addition, Christopher Dunphy installed its own Churchwarden Supreme control system. This monitors the temperature of the building, allowing for the optimum start time of the heaters. The entire project was carried out by Christopher Dunphy engineers with the help of DRU technical support staff.
Commenting on the installation, Graham Leech, chair of the church buildings sub-committee said: ‘The new system has been fully tested during the cold winter of 2010/2011 and has delivered effective heating. The timing system allows us to plan on a weekly basis for services, weddings, funerals and all other church activities.
‘Furthermore, the installation was carried out with impressive skill by Christopher Dunphy and his team.’
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