Improving the energy performance of The Chelmsford Diocesan House of Retreat, located within a conservation area in the historic Essex village of Pleshey, had the potential to challenge church leaders guiding the diocesan estate to carbon neutrality in line with the Church of England’s 2030 objective.
For not only is the retreat within a historically sensitive location, its buildings include a listed Georgian farmhouse, an Edwardian Arts and Crafts property and a chapel, collectively creating a real challenge in terms of energy efficiency upgrades and precluding many mainstream energy efficiency approaches, as Diocese spokesman Peter Palmer explained:
“Many of the buildings within our estate are more modern than those in Pleshey, making it possible to incorporate air source heat pumps and solar panels etc as part of our net zero agenda. But this approach couldn’t be considered for The House of Retreat due to the restrictions of a listed heritage site and the complexities of upgrading heating and plumbing systems within older buildings given their age and lay-out,” said Peter.
The diocese had previously installed revolutionary heat transfer fluid Hydromx at more than 30 of its voluntary aided primary schools and considered it the right approach for Pleshey due to its relative simplicity to install and no requirement for major plant or system changes. Energy and carbon savings of between 20% and 35% can be expected from Hydromx.
“Hydromx provided an outstanding solution, allowing us to upgrade all buildings at The House of Retreat with minimal impact on the day-to-day running of the operation and deliver an almost instant impact on fuel bills and carbon emissions,” added Peter.
This feedback was echoed by retreat warden the Rev Graham Dowling, who confirmed reduced fuel consumption and ‘warmer rooms overall’.
The Rt Revd Roger Morris, Bishop of Colchester and chair of the Diocesan Net Zero Carbon Management Board, believes the positive impact of Hydromx goes beyond reducing The House of Retreat’s fuel bill, as he explained: “Responding to the climate crisis is an essential part of our mission to safeguard God’s creation and achieve a more just world for everyone. We can already see the devastating impact of climate change across the world, often hitting hardest the poorest countries and poorest people of the world.
“For The House of Retreat, this new venture witnesses to our communities across Essex and East London that the Diocese of Chelmsford is fully committed to addressing climate change — in faith, practice and mission. We have also been bold and innovative in the use of Hydromx. It has already proven hugely effective across our school estate and the early signs are that it is already a game-changer for The House of Retreat – reducing running costs, ensuring the building is warm and hospitable and significantly cutting carbon emissions.”
In total some 635 litres of Hydromx were installed at the retreat by specialist contractor Lyndon Ingram-Palmer, of Highcliff Mechanical Services in Southend, Essex, working with UK distributor HMX UK. He said: “Each of the properties had different challenges but the process of adding Hydromx remained the same and relatively simple – drain the system, check it’s clean and in good condition and, in the case of the main building, replace some TRVs and add valves to ensure system isolation if a drain down is required.”
Read more here about how Hydromx is assisting New York City with its aim to be carbon neutral by 2050.
If you’d like to discuss installing Hydromx into your building get in touch
About Hydromx
Hydromx utilises nano-particles to speed up heat transfer from boilers into radiator systems, reducing the amount of energy required for rooms to reach the required temperature. Because boiler cycling and HVAC plant run-time is reduced, equipment lifespan is increased and maintenance requirements lessened, all adding to costs savings. Furthermore, we’ve had instances where installing Hydromx delivered the potential to increase heating/cooling capacity of existing plant sufficiently to avoid capital investment in new plant to cope with increased demand.
Hydromx is suitable for most commercial and domestic hydronic HVAC systems using water as a primary heat transfer fluid. It is a non-invasive, easy-to-install energy and carbon saving solution which works by improving heat transfer. It provides complete system protection against corrosion, calcification and bacteria and includes anti-freeze. Hydromx is inert, recyclable and guaranteed for 20 years. Depending upon the application and system characteristics, it will normally deliver energy, carbon and cost savings of between 20-35%.
Installation involves draining the system, flushing and re-filling with 50% water and 50% Hydromx. No major plant or system changes are required. The technology is backed by sound scientific principles and evidence supported by worldwide installations that have, in some cases, returned almost 50% energy savings.
If you’d like to discuss installing Hydromx into your building get in touch