Premium radiator company gives Fulham Road showroom heating a sustainable revamp
Background Information
Castrads is a family-run, premium radiator brand with over 20 years of experience in cast iron manufacturing. Sustainability is one of the company's core values, and co-owners Adam and Nick Baylis have pledged to decarbonise the heating systems across all showrooms, offices and workshops.
With retail and production facilities in North America and Europe in addition to their main HQ in Stockport, Castrads is also keen to demonstrate that cast iron is ideally suited to more energy efficient heating solutions.
First on the list for an overhaul was their flagship showroom on Fulham Road, London which is heated by Castrads’ own low flow cast iron radiators throughout. Partnering with software engineering company H2X, Castrads modelled the heat loss of the space as well as the output of the existing radiators and found that they were already very efficient and would work well with heat pump technology.
NIBE products used:
Key stats:
- Installed in Fulham Road, London
- Part of Castrad's mission to integrate renewable technology into the business
- Installed by West Hampstead Plumbing and Heating
- Unique solution involving a high up wall mounting for the heat pump
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Read now!The Solution
Castrads’ heat pump journey started when the team introduced Nick to Wesley at West Hampstead Heating, and together they chose the NIBE F2050 for the project. This was to be coupled with the stylish NIBE VVM S320 unit, an indoor module designed for combination with NIBE’s air source heat pumps to create a highly efficient climate system for your home.
The idea behind a more environmentally conscious heating solution at Castrads’ own property was to allow the team to better advise its customers. To provide expert guidance, they needed to ensure they knew heat pumps inside out, and the best way to achieve that was to get one themselves.
West Hampstead Heating chose the NIBE F2050 as a compact unit that would work well in the limited space. The F2050 is an inverter-controlled air and water heat pump that features a climate-friendly refrigerant.
The NIBE F2050 provides optimised savings as the heat pump automatically adapts to your home’s output requirements all year round. It boasts excellent seasonal performance factor for lower operating costs, and it is compact and quiet with a nominal sound power as low as 53dB(A), despite its small installation footprint.
The key challenge for Castrads and West Hampstead Heating was finding the right location for the outdoor air source unit. The showroom has a flat roof and a small 2x1m² outdoor space which is accessed through a sash window.
Despite every other shop on the road having a visible air conditioning unit, two proposed placements for the unit were rejected due to proximity to residential units above. This left one last option for its placement, in the courtyard area, which risked insufficient airflow for the heat pump to work properly
Wesley at West Hampstead Heating proposed the solution; lifting the unit high up the wall to allow for better airflow. Once these initial bumps in the road were smoothed out and agreed, the installation itself took just five days and Nick was happy with the result.
The Results
The decision to suspend the unit high on the wall allowed the airflow that the unit needed, and the heat pump has worked well since its installation.
Going forward, Nick and the team are keen to act as ambassadors for heat pump technology and its efficacy with Castrads radiators. In a happy coincidence, some minor changes that Castrads had made over the years to their radiators to improve heat output also happened to dramatically improve their compatibility with heat pumps.
Nick wanted to get the heat pump installed visibly in the Fulham Road show room so that they could prove to themselves that it works well with their radiators, and customers could get an idea of what a unit could look like in their own home.
Looking to the future, Castrads has pledged to decarbonise the heating in all its buildings, and next on the list is the factory in Stockport.
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About the installer
With over twenty years’ experience in the plumbing & heating industry, West Hampstead Heating are experts in installing air source heat pump systems. They are proud to be Nibe Pro Partner, as well as an approved Nibe service partner
West Hampstead Heating specialise in dealing with large, complex plumbing and heating systems in large domestic & commercial properties, and the team prides itself on its punctual and reliable service.
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