Greener hybrid heating system being installed at Samlesbury Hall
Work has started on installing a new hybrid heating scheme at Samlesbury Hall, which will enable them to choose between using electricity or gas.
An inefficient older oil boiler, which currently heats the Grade I listed manor house, is currently being replaced with a state-of-the-art new hybrid air source heat pump system, with the work due to be completed by September.
These systems take heat from the air and move it very efficiently into the building. By giving the custodians of the hall the hybrid option of electricity or gas, they will be able to choose which is the most cost-effective method at the time.
The additional benefit of the new heating system is that it will no longer be underneath the historic building, which will reduce the fire risk while also saving carbon, making it more eco-friendly.
The system will be manufactured using a Lancashire firm, Lytham based Global Energy Systems, a renewable energy company who specialise in air source heat pumps.
Councillor Shaun Turner, cabinet member for Environment and Climate Change said:
"Using new energy-efficient systems allows us to help historic buildings like this to become safer and more efficient to heat.
"Carbon-saving measures are vital to making Lancashire greener and cleaner.
"It is also important to us that we use Lancashire firms where possible to support their growth and the local economy.
"We are excited by the amount of innovative new projects that are coming up in the near future."
This is not the first successful air source heat pump project currently being piloted.
Clegg's Chilled Food Service, based in Longridge, has been recycling waste heat from their refrigeration into their office spaces. There has also been a successful installation of far-infrared heating at the Colne premises of GGM Group.
These projects were funded through local growth funding, allocated to low carbon heating schemes across Lancashire.
Other projects which are also set to be allocated a slice of Lancashire County Council's low carbon heat grant include an air source heat pump installation at a Preston based group looking to create jobs from within the local community and a new far-infrared project. This is set to run in a large warehouse, improving air quality levels and directing heat at workers, rather than the full space they are working in.