CASE STUDY

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Listed Building Orangery Heating

Description: Replacement of UFH system in a redeveloped Orangery, The Ribble Valley
Client: Mr & Mrs Hemsworth
ThermaSkirt Profile: Deco BMe3
The Challenge
When Lynne & Stephen Hemsworth first saw the Orangery – part of a grand estate built in the 19th Century – they were immediately smitten.

Stephen Hemsworth: “We originally planned to self-build our dream home, but when we came across the Orangery that was developed as part of a large derelict estate, we fell in love with it.”

Retaining its striking architectural features, including the tall windows and high ceilings, the 4 bed property benefited from having magnificent open views within the beautiful Ribble Valley, and no radiators as the developer had installed underfloor heating.
“We love the clean lines of the property as there are no ugly radiators, but in a few of the rooms the UFH just never seemed to work properly. I guess because we prefer carpets to hard floors and there is a lot of glass to contend with. We ended up using portable fan heaters to heat the room which were noisy and not very efficient.”
The Problem

Doing some research Stephen Googled ‘UFH alternative’ and came up with ‘ThermaSkirt skirting heating’. ThermaSkirt is a radiant heating system that is designed to replicate a skirting board profile. Made from aluminum, the warm water from the primary heat source passes through integral tubes on the back of the profile. The front face then heats up and radiates warmth - from a low level all around the room just like UFH. He asked them to send an engineer to view the property to see what could be done.

That’s when they hit a snag. Stephen explains; “I was hoping that we could simply connect the ThermaSkirt onto the existing UFH heating pipes, but as they are buried in the concrete using them would have meant excavating the floor and we just didn’t want to do that.”

Fortunately, DiscreteHeat also manufacture a matching electric version, which meant that the system could be connected onto an existing ring main circuit with no disruption whatsoever. But Lynne still wasn’t 100% sure.

“We have lovely Beech skirting boards throughout the property and I felt that the plain white skirting, however nicely finished they are, would stand out from the rest of the house.”

ThermaSkirt frees the walls from radiators, maximising usable space irrespective of the floor covering.
The Solution

Fortunately, DiscreteHeat have recently added a timber finish option to their portfolio of finishes, and there was a Beech effect powder coat that was a very close match to the existing skirting boards.

“I only had a small swatch to compare,” said Stephen “but it did look very close to the existing skirting boards. So we decided that on balance it was our best option and we ordered the system for the 2 coldest rooms”

Fitted in less than a day, the larger 3 channel ThermaSkirt BMe3 was installed, which delivers approximately 200 watts per meter, using a wireless Thermostat and receiver, ensuring there was practically no mess

The Result
“We were really impressed with the finished result; It’s a very good match to our wooden skirting & unless you really looked hard, I doubt anyone else would ever know.

The recent cold snap has been a hard test for the system, but for the 1st time, we really feel comfortable in these rooms. Very Happy.”
ThermaSkirt is available in both central heating and electric versions in a variety of styles and finishes