Evenheat Projects: Churches
St Mary's Church Banbury
Designed in 1790 by Samuel Pepys Cockerell, St Mary's, Banbury (right) is one of very few churches in England to feature a circular rather than a square tower and topped with a dome rather than a spire.
The church's underfloor heating system, designed and supplied by Evenheat, formed part of a major refurbishment carried out within the church involving the creation of a "stage" area at the eastern Chancel end of the building. The 150 square metre stage area is used for normal Sunday congregations. Stacking chairs can be arranged on the stage to form a compact worship space, kept warm and comfortable by the Evenheat system without the need to turn on the heating in the main area of the church. Apart from its religious function, the stage is also used for concerts, recitals and plays.
The stage area is raised some 700mm above the church floor. Construction is of timber with a plywood deck topped with thick vinyl sheeting. The Evenheat designed system comprises special aluminium heat diffusion plates with Pex pipework mounted in each plate.
The system is served by an existing gas fired boiler and is controlled as a single zone via the twin-pump manifold located in the basement boiler room, which operates in conjunction with a thermostat in the stage area.
Rehersal in Progress on the Stage at St. Mary's, Banbury
Burley-In-Wharfedale Methodist Church
An underfloor heating system, designed and supplied by Evenheat, now provides 21st century comfort for Burley-In-Wharfedale Methodist Church.
The major refurbishment project was aimed at establishing the church at the centre of its own community, offering a range of social and sporting facilities in addition to its key function as a place of worship.
The main upper balcony was levelled and extended to create a new church hall, flanked by meeting and study rooms, providing space for a wide range of functions from drama rehearsals to indoor sports. With a ceiling 7.5m high it can even accommodate a badminton court! On the ground floor, individual chairs rather than fixed pews, make it possible to seat anywhere between 180 and 260 people for regular services.
Timber suspended floors were used at both levels in the church with a total area of some 450 square metres. The Evenheat designed system used for the refurbished building comprises Pex pipework mounted within grooves in special aluminium heat diffusion plates. When the system is in use, heat from the warm water flowing through the pipes is spread evenly across the entire underside of the floors by the plates.
For control purposes, the church's underfloor heating system is divided into six zones, each with its own manifold and Zonepack water temperature control. In this way the heating in each zone can be tuned to match the varying occupancy levels in different parts of the building.
Burley-In-Wharfedale Methodist Church
St. Mary's Church Banbury
St Brandon's Church, Brancepeth
The 12th Century St Brandon's Church (left) in the village of Brancepeth, County Durham, lies in the shadow of Brancepeth Castle - home for many centuries to the powerful Neville family.
When fire swept through St Brandon's, the Brancepeth Church Development Trust set to work patiently restoring the ancient building.
An important phase of the project was the installation of an Evenheat underfloor heating system to serve the central area of the church, with a complementary trench heating system located on the periphery near the external walls. Concealed beneath the floor, the Evenheat pipe work provides no visual clash with the church interior, while full comfort conditions can be maintained at minimum running cost, despite the high ceiling above the main worship space.
During installation, loops of Evenheat's special cross-linked polyethylene pipe work with integral oxygen diffusion barrier, were laid above a layer of insulation material to prevent downward heat transfer. The pipe loops were terminated at manifolds located in the ancillary rooms and connected in turn to the new 140kW condensing boiler plant. After pressure testing, a final screed was applied integrating the Evenheat pipe work into the floor structure and providing a smooth, even surface for the top layer of flagstones.
St Brandon's Church, Brancepeth
Evenheat Limited, Compton Park, Wildmere Road, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 3JU
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