Snape Maltings District Heating

The Boiler

A fully automated Gilles woodchip boiler has been installed in a new boiler house on the edge of the site. The boiler provides heating and hot water to all the buildings on the site, distributed through a network of underground preinsulated district heating mains.

Fuel Store

A 150m3 underground store, incorporating a hydraulic walking floor has been installed to make use of the local forest produce transferring fuel to the boiler as required. The store has been designed so that when it is a third full, the largest delivery can still be made, this keeps delivery costs to a minimum and making considerable savings over the life of the system. As the wood fuel is sourced locally, the net CO² produced is reduced by 256 tonnes per annum for the site.

District Heating Mains

The system was selected for its ability to heat multiple properties at one time and this is achieved through installing Isoplus insulated pipes. Energy Innovations are market leaders in the design and installation of district heating systems and they use Isoplus pipes due to their flexibility and ability to carry hot water with minimal heat loss.

Heat Meters

Full records of the heat energy (kW) transferred from the boiler to each individual property and other parts of the development are recorded to enable correct billing to be carried out for each tenant and to claim the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Special Project Requirements

As the project was within an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), the flue height could not be at the designed height and therefore a shorter flue and flue exhaust had to be fitted. Planning & listed building status meant that an existing footprint had to be used for the boiler house. Cost of the boiler house was increased due to the design and a higher specification of materials. As there were limitations on the footprint of the boiler house and fuel store an underground fuel store had to be built and additional costs were incurred due to the high water table on‐site.

Fuel Supply

Security of supply is always an issue. I do have concerns that biomass tends to have its own prices that are not tracked to other fuels or to the cost of production. A few tips to woodfuel users are:

1. Have your fuel supply in place at the design stage of the project.

2. Treat your fuel supplier as a project partner.

3. Always use EU standard fuels.

4. Install a fuel system so that more than one company is capable of delivering. e.g.. walking floor, tipped, hi‐tip, blown or bags.

5. Use industry standard delivery fittings and pipe sizing.

6. Shop around for your fuel; the delivery distance will have a big influence on the price fuel. The fuel supply sector is still growing and a more local supplier may be able to provide quality fuel at a reduced cost.