Anchor and ATAG start to reduce heating bills

The decision two years ago to install ATAG modulating condensing boilers in a number of Anchor Trust’s sheltered housing and residential homes is now starting to pay dividends. The installation of these boilers and centralised monitoring is leading to significant cuts in energy costs and reduced maintenance, with no loss in comfort levels. A typical example is the installation of new equipment at Barleyfields in York. This is a 3-storey retirement dwelling for 26 tenants. It has communal areas, including a lounge, corridors and lifts, plus a manager’s office and lift. All require comfortable heating, whatever the weather or season. The property was built in 1976. Its existing boilers were considered to have reach the end of their life. They were housed in a penthouse plant room, accessible only by a small hatchway. New equipment had to be craned into place, and the modular configuration of three Blauwe Engel 60 kW boilers, with their low-profile cascade flueing system proved a benefit. The addition of new hot-water generation, circulating pumps and Coster controllers completed the installation. Within a year, the new boilers had reduced fuel costs by £1427, despite recent increases in the price of gas and running at higher room temperatures. So far, 142 high-efficiency Blauwe Engel condensing boilers have been installed at 30 sites, with a further 50 planned for 2006. Anchor has 700 buildings across the UK with gas heating. The total gas bill for the last 12 months was about £5.8 million.