Historical building with the latest heating and cooling technology
Le Hurel Tower auf Jersey Island
230-year-old stone walls, 1.5 meter thick walls and 18 months of conversion work, plus a whole host of requirements concerning the protection of historical structures. Le Hurel Tower (Jersey) was retained in full and integrated in the new modern building.
The client insisted that the basic structures and the character of the building were to be preserved. The historical masonry was also to remain visible inside the tower and be integrated in the extension. The selection and combination of the right energy and heating systems was very challenging due to the structural situation and the strict requirements concerning the protection of historical structures. This was an ideal project for our local partner Mark Hodge from A.R.T. Alternative Renewable Technologies.
As individual as the building itself
The historical construction material was to remain on show in the staircase of the extension. Therefore, it could not be used for a wall heating system. In addition, generously sized glass surfaces limited the surfaces that could be used as heating surfaces. An additional challenge was that the statics only allowed a “light” heating system. Therefore, the installer and the client chose the VarioComp floor dry wall construction system from Variotherm. With a construction height of 20 mm and a weight of approx 25 kg/m², it met all construction requirements. Despite its slim design, the floor heating is fast to react and it reaches the full flow temperature of 35 °C in approximately one hour.
The upper floor did not allow for any additional construction height on the floor. Therefore, the total heating requirement is met by a plastered wall heating system.
Quickly reaching the right temperature
The reason for surface heating systems’ good energy balance is that warm water circulates through the whole system and heats the room evenly over the whole surface. Therefore, these heating systems require the water to have a lower flow temperature (approx. 35°C) than conventional radiators (approx. 60°C). As a result, the energy consumption of the whole system is reduced and up to 25% can be saved on heating costs.
The tower, formerly a defence post against France, is now a beautiful private residence - a unique property on Le Hurel beach.
