& Burners Directory 2015 42 Bioenergy Internat ional No 81, 5-2015 Boilers Biomass heats award-winning Welsh hotel Tre-Ysgawen Hall Hotel is an award-winning luxury spa and hotel scenically set in rolling countryside on the Isle of Anglesey, located on an island, off the gas grid, the four-star Tre-Ysgawen Hall Hotel complex features 29 luxurious rooms in the original mansion building along with a number of conference suites, dining rooms, a swimming pool, thermal suite and gym most of which were previously heated using oil. The owners wanted to cut the heating oil bill which was costing the business some GBP 90 000 (≈ EUR 126 000) per annum while reducing carbon emissions. Employing around 80 staff the hotel is also the island’s largest employer. – We have been spending GBP 200 000 (≈ EUR 280 000) per year on LPG, oil and electricity and in business terms that means I have to have a turnover of GBP 800 000 per year (≈ EUR 1.1 million) just to pay the fuel bills. It was crucial to the future of the hotel that we did something to address this, said Neil Rowlands, CEO of Tre-Ysgawen Hall Hotel. All-in-one woodchip system Rowlands commissioned an on-site audit by energy experts Carbon Control Ltd to find ways of reducing energy consumption and improve sustainability. Biomass boiler installers, Rural Energy Ltd, were contracted for the GBP 500 000 (≈ EUR 700 000) investment into a 600 kW woodchipfired “all-in-one” fuel storage and biomass boiler system from Austrian manufacturers Herz Energietechnik GmbH. The woodchip store and boiler construction takes advantage of the sloped grounds with the fuel store side fitted to match the slope. This enables easy delivery of woodchips by tipper truck. The fuel store is equipped with a walking floor for energy efficient fuel feeding. The boiler, a 600 kW “BioFire”, is the largest model type in the Herz woodchip/pellet boiler product series. The model is available in the 500 to 1 500 kW thermal range although, according to Herz, it can be used in projects up to 4 500 kW by cascading. Utilising a step-grate furnace technology developed in-house the unit features compact design. Automatic cleaning of heat exchanger surfaces enables a consistently high level of heat transfer efficiency. Built-in Lambda sensors control primary and secondary air supply together with continuous flue gas monitoring to ensure optimum combustion and extremely low emission values, even in partial load operation and changes in fuel quality. Six-year payback with RHI The new biomass boiler system uses about 450 tonnes of woodchips per annum. The woodchips are supplied from a local depot by Stobart Biomass Products Ltd, a subsidiary of Stobart Group, a leading UK infrastructure, logistics and support services company. The running costs are around GBP 40 000 (≈ EUR 56 000) per annum, less than half the amount the hotel was spending on fuel oil. However with the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), a government financial support scheme that provides regressive payment based on the actual heat output, the estimated payback time is within six years. – It was still a difficult decision to take because I was very aware that my customers were not going to see the benefits of this large amount of money. It’s not like spending it on the refurbishment of rooms or on new carpets where they can see a difference, ended Neil Rowlands. Text: Alan Sherrard Photos courtesy Rural Energy BI81/4926/AS Wales. Originally built in 1882 as a country mansion it opened as a hotel in 1996 after refurbishment and extensions. In late 2012 it commissioned what is believed to be one of the first biomass heating systems designed and installed specifically for a hotel and spa in Wales. www.firefly.se spark detection & Fire protection solutions firefly is the only company with fM-approval for detection of both sparks and hot black particles with temperatures down to 250ᵒC (TD-detector) and 400ᵒC (GD-detector).
Bioenergy no 5 September 2015
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