Hidden warmth installed for listed hotel
Smith’s Fan Convectors has supplied Caspian Concealed fan convectors to heat the beautiful former home of Sir William Gilbert, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. The listed building that is now Grim’s Dyke Hotel in Old Redding, Harrow Weald, was built between 1870 and 1872 and joined Best Western in 2013.
The heating system had seen better days, and the owners were keen to invest in efficient heating that would maintain the building’s aesthetics. Contractor Keypark proposed Caspian Universal Concealed fan convectors, which have been installed in a number of rooms.
John Parker, the hotel’s general manager, explains, ‘One of the challenges of this listed building is that the windows are very large and cannot be double glazed. The previous style of heating simply didn’t cope in really cold weather and, with any of our regular events, the main door is continually open. The fan convectors respond to this temperature change and cope with the sudden demand easily and effortlessly.
‘The new boilers and fan-convector heating have meant that we no longer have to supplement the heating with additional electrical appliances.’
Radio-frequency controllers manage the heating.
