Category: Commercial

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Mansfield Baptist Church

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ARTICLE BY MATTHEW BILLINGTON – JIGSAW INFRARED HEATING

MANSFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH

| CASE STUDY

NOTTINGHAM

Did you know there is no need to turn the heating on at lunchtime on a Saturday to ensure everyone is warm enough on a Sunday morning? Sometimes even longer! This appears to be a common problem for most religious buildings. Jigsaw and Genius Hub are approached frequently to help on ways to heat older buildings. The most requests we get are for support for churches. These are some of the more challenging buildings to work on due to the age, construction, wiring and delicacy needed to when planning and installing.

We are usually asked one simple question. Will Infrared work for our church? The answer is, YES! But, the challenge for Jigsaw staff is to find the best way of warming the building quickly, efficiently and with controls which make is easier for members of the church to use.

INITIAL ENQUIRY
The Jigsaw team recently completed a three week installation at Mansfield Baptist Church, Nottingham. We were originally approached along with five other companies to offer our solution for heating multiple rooms of various sizes. Ones of their main issues was that there are so many rooms that each would require different infrared solutions to work. The previous convection/gas system was taking too long to warm the rooms up. Some rooms never reached temperature in some large areas. This caused the congregation to feel uncomfortable in the colder months.

THE AREA FOR INSTALLATION ON THE FIRST PHASE:

  • Reception
  • Managers Office
  • Central Corridor
  • Nave (10m+ High Vaulted ceiling)
  • Balcony
  • Vestry Office
  • Parent and Baby Room
  • 3 x Large Meetings Rooms
  • 3 x Bathrooms
Jigsaw-2

HEATER SELECTION
The team on their first visit knew that the Mid Range of Infrared heaters would be required for the larger spaces. Jigsaw’s Made in Britain Infrared Panels would be used in the others. Their expertise were put in to use for calculating the requirements of the rooms, the heaters needed, control systems and the installation processes.

Jigsaw-1

COMFORTABLE WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Once an initial estimation had been made, the custodians of the church visited one of our previous church installations in the Midlands. This gave them the sense of what the IR heat feels like and how it can quickly warm the space up. This gave the group the confidence in their investment. Two demonstration heaters were loaned to the church to aid their decision. With Infrared you need to feel it,  know what it does and how far it reaches.

For the full case study, the installation process and the results – please check here!

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Southend on Sea

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Avenue Baptist Church

CASE STUDY

SOUTHEND-ON-SEA

Avenue Baptist Church in Southend-on-Sea is a busy church providing vital services to the local community, from playgroups for young families, to football clubs for the youth, to meals for the vulnerable and elderly, Avenue Baptist Church caters for all in the local community.

The church has the environment in their sights as well, and the leadership team feel passionately about reducing their carbon footprint, improving their environmental credentials and reducing energy costs, allowing them to channel the money saved into front line services.

With an antiquated and expensive to run gas heating system connected to wet radiators heating tall rooms, this meant that the cost of keeping the church warm for the various activities was mounting up. Using traditional radiators was not right for the tall rooms where all of the heat (hot air) would rise up to the top of the building leaving those using the rooms cold and the cost of heating astronomically high.

The church brought in some heating professionals and it was recommended to them that the solution was to swap to Far Infrared panels. These heating panels being Infrared mean that they heat the people and the objects in the room and not the air. Because they don’t heat the air this saves a lot of energy as in tall rooms the hot air simply rises up into the high ceilings and is no use to anyone up there!

The environmental credentials of these Far Infrared heating panels comes from the upwards of 50% reduction in energy required to heat the building to the same comfort levels, and purchasing the electricity from a green and renewable electricity tariff. Also, they now have little in the way of maintenance costs for the church for at least the next 15 years. Some similar sites also offset some of the electricity used for the heating by installing solar PV, and feeding it back into the grid in the summer months making the site as a whole carbon neutral.

The church came to Genius Hub to provide the control of these new electric heating panels. Genius Hub not only offer zoned control of each room from an app, but also occupancy detection, so any zone can easily be set up so it only comes on when people are using the room. This is done with a little occupancy sensor in the room and this automatically turns the heating off when the room is left, giving peace of mind to the Deacons (management) of the church that energy will not be wasted heating empty rooms and saving the church a lot of money.

After the installation of the panels and the Genius Hub we interviewed Dr. Terence Lewis (project manager), about why he went down the Far Infrared route and why he chose smart controls. This is what he had to say:

Why smart heating controls?
Having used smart heating controls previously it was clearly the only way forward. I believe it is the future, offering maximum savings for minimum cost.

Why did you choose Genius Hub?
We chose Genius Hub because they came highly recommended by the specifiers of the Far Infrared panels. I was not concerned about this “new” technology because I did a lot of research before I started. There is a lot of information and proof now that this sort of technology is both reliable and future proof.

How did you design the system?
Designing the new heating system was easy, I designed it with the help of the Infrared heating provider, who did a thorough design of the lighting and also the heating. First impressions of Genius Hub impressed me, especially with its ease of use and flexibility. It can control the church’s new electric heating and we will be able to expand it to control the underfloor and radiators in the rest of the church if budgets allow.

How much can Genius Hub save on your bill?
We’re aiming for an excess of 45% savings on the energy bills because we are combining the Far Infrared technology with the better control and LED lighting. We know that Genius Hub alone can save upwards of 30% so that, with swapping the old wet radiators to Far Infrared heaters the savings will all stack up quickly.

What do you like about Infrared heating?
An important consideration is we are very motivated to look after God’s planet, reducing the toxic emissions from the old gas boilers and moving to green electricity is all part of looking after the planet, as well as the cost savings being a benefit.

Was there anything you were concerned about?
No. Because I did a lot of research before I started.

How was the installation?
We were pleased that the installation was done by local contractors (which is the recommendation of Genius Hub) and though they had not installed the Genius Hub before, the engineer from Genius Hub visited the site during the installation and checked that it was all being installed in line with their strict guidelines.

Would you recommend Genius Hub?
Yes – definitely.

Have you benefited in any other way?
Yes we now have a more comfortable environment for the church congregation and the wider communities who use our facility.

Conclusion
Really, I’m already looking forward to next winter when we can give the system a really good trial and demonstrate the predicted savings and reduced carbon footprint!’

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The Belfry Hotel

belfry
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THE BELFRY HOTEL & RESORT

CASE STUDY

SUTTON COLDFIELD

Surrounded by over 500 acres of rolling countryside, the world renowned Belfry Hotel & Resort offers luxurious meeting and events rooms, guest bedrooms and suites, restaurant bars, a nightclub, a luxury Spa and Health Club and of course amazing golf. Jacklin House was chosen for a pilot of the Genius Hub because it has consistently high occupancy levels and as such would be a rigorous test for the Genius Hub system and as a result would potentially show the lowest savings.

The world renowned Belfry Hotel & Resort were looking for a low cost and effective energy saving measure that could be easily retrofitted to the buildings across the resort, with little or no disruption to the occupants of the building, and would not only reduce the cost of heating but also improve the heating levels for guests.

As part of this installation of the Genius Hub a full Monitoring and Verification report was carried out to analyse the heat data provided by The Belfry Hotel for ‘before’ and ‘after’ the installation. This was to determine the energy saved as a result of installing the Genius Hub system used to control the temperature of the bedrooms in Jacklin House. This building is of modern construction with wet radiators in each room and frequently runs at high occupancy often above 95%.

The Monitoring and Verification report found an average saving of 64% when comparing the original heating schedule with an occupancy based schedule over the trial period of 10 weeks. The trial consisted of alternating the heating schedule between ‘Timer Mode’ – where rooms are heated regardless of occupancy – and ‘Sense Mode’ – where only occupied rooms are heated. The mode of the heating was alternated for the first 4 weeks, spending 2 weeks in Timer Mode and 2 weeks in Sense Mode, and was then left in Sense Mode for the next 6 weeks.

This test was carried out between 27th November 2019 – 5th February 2020. During the period of the trial it was reported that the number of complaints regarding the heating in Jacklin House reduced compared to before the Genius Hub was installed.

The guest rooms are of modern cavity wall construction with double glazing and the rooms had manual Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) before they were changed for wireless Genius Radiator Valves. No plumbing was required as part of the installation so each room took only 30 minutes (approx.) to change to ‘smart’ control. The monitoring of the heat being supplied to the building during the trial was by a fiscal quality heat meter.

We interviewed the head of maintenance at the hotel and this is what he had to say about Genius Hub.

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What were the main considerations before purchasing?
As an award winning 4* hotel, guest satisfaction was of key importance and the energy savings really only come as a bonus. We have demanding guests who expect everything to be perfect with their stay with us, and we cannot have a situation where there are any problems with the temperatures in the guest rooms.

Was there anything you were concerned about?
Yes, we have full BEMS (Building Energy Management Systems) controlling all of our 13 plant rooms, but we lacked experience with this sort of system. It’s important that we can diagnose an issue with the hotel’s systems as quickly as possible so reception can let the guest know something is being done about it. With the BEMS system we can do that for the boiler plant, and we were hoping that Genius Hub will allow us to do that for the rooms. We realise now that it gives us a lot more information about the rooms than we were expecting.

What were your first impressions of Genius Hub?
The whole company was very professional and they came across well. The engineer explained well what we were getting and how it would be used by the guests and the maintenance team here at the hotel. We chose to block off the individual floors for the engineers from Genius Hub which was appreciated by them, but we realised now that this was not really necessary, the installation went really smoothly and was less disruptive than expected, in fact it was completely trouble free with no disruption to the day to day running of the hotel at all. We also expected more snagging and more of the valve bodies to cause problems as we chose to keep all of the old radiators and valves, but again this was something that caused less issues than we were expecting and didn’t end up adding extra cost to the system.

How much can Genius Hub cut your heating bill?
In the proposal we received from the salesman they predicted the standard 30% savings, however as we plan to potentially roll this out across the site we wanted to know for sure what it would be. We paid for a heat meter to be installed which gave us 30 minute heat energy usage for this block and we installed this onto the pipework in the plant room. We then ran tests over 10 weeks to compare what the energy use was like in a ‘before’ and ‘after’ individual room control situation. We were extremely pleased to calculate that the Genius Hub has saved us 64% off our heating costs meaning that the system has about a 2 year payback on the cost of installation.

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What do you like about the Genius Hub system?
The remote control and monitoring is key to us, we now have the ability to look at the heating history on the charts for each individual room. Now when a customer says that there was a problem with the temperature in their room, we have evidence of any given day what was actually happening in a room.

This significantly reduces confrontation for reception and the number of refunds we have to give out for rooms. We can control and schedule each room which means we don’t have to rely on the housekeepers resetting the TRVs (Radiator Valves) back to 3 all of the time, when they’d often forget, and now they can work in the rooms at a cooler temperature so they are pleased with that too.

What are your staff’s impressions of the Genius Hub?
Reception is the first point of contact for any guest, and the feedback from reception about the Genius Hub has been excellent. They have said to us that once they have explained to the guest that they have adjusted the heating in their room whilst they were on the phone, the instant resolution for the guests is priceless for guest satisfaction.

The only thing that caught them out initially was reception needed to learn to also tell the guest that they are doing it remotely and no one was actually going to visit the room to adjust the heating!

What’s been your experience with Genius Hub overall?
Simple. You get what you are sold and it exceeded our expectations!

How do you use the system?
I do use the app on the phone as I’m not always in the office, we also have it on the designated BEMS computer in the office. I can log on easily when I’m home if there is a problem saving me to have to come to site.

We have a WhatsApp group where I can help remotely if there is a problem that’s not being resolved quickly and it just gives me another bit of visibility of what’s going on in the hotel when I’m not there. When comparing it to using the BEMS it is easy. We like the built in troubleshooter in the app and we’ve managed to fix most issues without having to phone Genius Hub for help. We’ve certainly not had to call anyone out to site in the first 5 months since the installation.

Conclusion
We are now looking to role it out across other parts of the site, the gas consumption has been dramatically reduced and guest complaints have gone down for this part of the site too, so it has given us all that we wanted and a lot more besides, we’d definitely  recommend Genius Hub to others.

Book a room with the Belfry here!

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John Street Hostel

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JOHN STREET HOSTEL

CASE STUDY

CARLISLE, CUMBRIA

John Street Hostel is run by Carlisle City Council and provides emergency accommodation for up to 20 homeless men in individual bedrooms. In 2015, the hostel was severely flood-damaged by Storm Desmond, requiring the complete renovation of the ground floor, and the hostel finally re-opened in the spring of 2018.

The Manager, Peter Rhodes, explained that prior to the renovation the hostel did have a Building Energy Management System (BEMS) but this didn’t provide room-by-room control of the heating. As a result, especially in the colder months, some rooms would be overheated whilst others were left too cold. The necessary refurbishment following the storm provided an opportunity to install a completely new system that would offer much better control – and the Genius Hub was chosen.

What were your first impressions of the Genius Hub?
Peter Rhodes: “The user-interface seemed quite daunting at first, just because of the level of control we now had. Before we only had a time clock for the boiler and now we had one for every room, and I felt quite apprehensive about this, but as I got used to it I realised that, once set, we could just leave it alone to look after itself. This was excellent, as we didn’t want a system that we had to keep adjusting all the time,”

How was the installation?
Peter Rhodes: “The installation was completely non-intrusive and caused no disruption at all. Much of the equipment was installed in the loft space so there was little reason to go into any of the guest’s rooms.”

What have you liked about the Genius Hub system?
Peter Rhodes: “The flexibility and ease of use of the system is important, but a major plus has got to be the cost savings as it all comes out of our budget to run the hostel.”

Have you benefited in any other way?
Peter Rhodes: “Having each of the rooms individually controllable has been very much appreciated by our residents. We can check on the temperatures in the individual rooms and it is excellent that the system manages itself and we only need to tweak it from time to time.”

Monitoring and Verification Report

ABSTRACT:
The purpose of this report is to analyse the gas data provided by the Carlisle City Council for before and after the installation of the Genius Hub system to determine the energy saved as a result (to within the greatest degree of accuracy as possible). This report found an average saving of 50% since the installation of the Genius Hub system in October 2018, at the time of writing. Note that the predicted energy savings on this site given the level of existing control (BEMS & modern TRVs on all radiators) was 25%. The 50% saving on the energy bills achieved has given the whole project a 2.1 year payback.

PROJECT INCENTIVES:
John St. Homeless Hostel is frequently in high demand and has a high turnover of residents. The building has 20 ensuite bedrooms, as well as a dining hall, communal area and staff offices. Carlisle City Council (CCC) recognised the Genius Hub system as a low cost & effective energy saving measure that could be easily retrofitted with little or no disruption to the occupants of the building. The aim of this pilot project was to help the council cut energy costs while maintaining comfort levels.

PERIOD OF DATA:
The relevant dates for this installation are:

  • 12/09/18 – Initial Installation
  • 24/10/18 – Tweaking Visit (Genius system optimized by an on-site engineer based on feedback from staff)
  • 9/04/18 – Analysis of energy data from site (the winter’s heating usage)

Gas data for Oct 2017 – Aug 2018 has been compared with the data for Sept 2018 – March 2018. The kWh/Degree Day​ ºC has been used as a way of comparing concurrent weeks in a calendar year while taking into account fluctuations in external temperature. Like ‘miles per gallon’, but where the type of road and driving conditions have been standardised.

BEFORE INSTALLATION:
When the external temperature drops the building is under heated and when it is warmer
outside the building overheats. 

The R2 value is a measure of how tightly the data points fit the trendline. This can also be thought of as a measure of the proportionality between two variables. An R2 value of >0.95 is deemed an exceptionally accurate data set. Graph showing the energy consumption prior to installation of the Genius Hub system; 01/10/2017 – 12/09/17.

  • The ‘Average Weekly Consumption / External Degree Days’ for 01/10/17 – 18/03/18 = 14.19 kWh/ºC.
  • The ‘Average Weekly Consumption / External Degree Days’ for 01/10/17 – 09/09/18 = 18.54 kWh/ºC.

AFTER INSTALLATION:

  • Period 1 after installation (01/09/2018 – 31/10/2018)
    The ‘Average Weekly Consumption / External Degree Days’ = 0.78 kWh/ºC
    Building used 6% of the energy than the average for the first 2 months post- installation, i.e. a 94% saving.
  • Period 2 after installation (31/10/2018 – 06/12/2018)
    The ‘Average Weekly Consumption / External Degree Days’ = 6.27 kWh/ºC
    Building used 34% of the energy than the average for the following 2 months, i.e. a 66% saving.
  • Period 3 after installation (06/12/2018 – 28/12/2018)
    The ‘Average Weekly Consumption / External Degree Days’ = 21.50 kWh/ºC
    Building used 152% of the energy than the average for the following 3 weeks, i.e. an increase of 52%.
  • Period 4 after installation (28/12/2018 – 13/02/2019)
    The ‘Average Weekly Consumption / External Degree Days’ = 3.89 kWh/ºC
    Building used 27% of the energy than the average for the following 2 months. i.e. a 73% saving.
  • Period 5 after installation (13/02/2019 – 18/03/2019)
    The ‘Average Weekly Consumption / External Degree Days’ = 13.15 kWh/ºC
    Building used 93% of the energy than the average for the following month, i.e. a 7% saving.

From the data provided, this report finds an average saving of 50% for the time period being monitored. It is likely that this figure will not be entirely accurate as the data provided is not of especially high resolution – however lengths have been taken in the calculations above to mitigate any discrepancies and take a worst case approach.

This report was put together by an industry specialist, using the widely accepted monitoring and verification processes and the guidelines set out by the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). It was then independently verified by a 3rd party to confirm it’s accuracy and impartiality.

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Tomorrow’s FM November 2019 – Degrees of Difference​

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Bedford

Tomorrow's FM November 2019 - Degrees of Difference

Bedford College had issues with the cost and control of its heating and cooling systems – even after a major refurbishment of one of its buildings.
Their mechanical and electrical design consultant Panda CES approached Genius Hub to consider these concerns and offer some intelligent solutions.

THE SITUATION
Bedford College is the largest Further Education College in the South East Midlands, with multiple campuses catering for students and apprentices from age 16 onwards. In 2012, it retrofitted its Brundtland Building (named after a leading Norwegian environmentalist) as a showcase for applying alternative energy technologies and energy efficiency techniques in existing buildings. Despite new gas boilers and a building energy management system (BEMS), they still had some issues around heating
and cooling, along with high energy costs.

The building contains workshops, teaching rooms and administration offices and suffered from many of the problems found in similar buildings of this nature: Large workshops are used for bricklaying, carpentry and electrical installation training were particularly difficult to heat, and draughty windows caused further heat loss. Fan blowers were used, with the heat coming from the new gas boilers. These were noisy and inefficient and didn’t direct the heat to where it was needed as the warm air would quickly rise to the ceiling.

The classrooms had problems with over-heating on warm days and under-heating on cold days. Some of the classrooms and offices had split-system air-conditioning units. These were often running at the same time as the radiators and wasting a lot of energy. 

Furthermore, as there was no timing control, the air conditioning units were also being left on overnight. If staff stayed late or classes were run in the evenings or weekends, the only option was to have the whole building on. 

THE RIGHT KNOWHOW
Intelligent, occupancy-based room sensors plus modern double panel radiators with smart TRVs (thermostatic radiator valves) have been added to each room. This allows pre-heating of the rooms before they are occupied and then keeps them at a pre-set temperature while being used. 

As soon as a room becomes unoccupied, they automatically revert to a set-back temperature, saving energy and reducing costs. And if staff stay late or an event is running in the evenings or at weekends, only those rooms needed will be heated – not the entire building.

ll of the fan blowers for the workshops have been replaced with wet overhead radiant panels which radiate their heat downwards to the occupants in the room. These are also controlled on occupancy of the room. Existing air-conditioning units are now centrally controlled, so they cannot run at the same time as the heating or if there is no-one in the room.

THE ADVANTAGES
The installation of intelligent controls for the heating and cooling systems is expected to result in considerable cost-savings, as well as an enhanced learning and work environment within this showcase building. In this installation Bedford College chose Genius Hub as the controls supplier as all of the Genius Hub equipment is wireless, so with minimal disruption (as it is generally retrofitted to existing systems), installation normally takes just a few days and without impacting the normal operation of a building.

College staff and the maintenance team now take a hands-off approach to adjusting temperatures in the rooms, and any heating issues which arise can usually be dealt with through the Genius Hub app, which runs on a smartphone or computer web browser. The Genius Hub records all room occupancy and temperature data, giving admin staff valuable information on room usage levels. Exercising the pump and all the radiator valves regularly during the summer, to prevent seizing and sludge build-up, is now trivial and completed automatically. The Genius Hub system typically has a two to five-year payback period.

Book your free Genius Hub survey here!

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Bossington Hall

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BOSSINGTON HALL

CASE STUDY

PORLOCK

Elevated high above the beautiful Vale of Porlock, Bossington Hall is an unusual property, where a beautiful and well-appointed stately home has been converted into very high-class self-catered accommodation with 15 guest rooms and 14 bathrooms. “The building pulls together modern comfort with 1920s elegance.”

Taking only exclusive-use bookings, the Hall has large public rooms as well as very generous bedrooms, making it a great venue for both family gatherings and corporate events alike. Owner Guy Dewdney purchased the Hall in 2016. He installed the Genius Hub in Spring 2017 to reduce the risk of guests leaving the heating on high all week, resulting in not only excessive costs but also the likelihood of unexpectedly running out of oil.

How did you hear about Genius Hub?
Bossington Hall actively researched their issue of lack of control and discussed it online with other owners of large homes. They found that their property was too large for the majority of domestic systems on the market, and yet they did not use enough fuel to warrant the expense of a large Building Energy Management System (BEMS).

They found that Genius Hub was recommended on forums including Money Savings Expert.

Why Genius Hub?
Genius Hub is unique – making it a market leader in what it can achieve. The system is designed to provide a solution even in the most complex buildings.

Working with the client at the design stage generates a comprehensive understanding of the building and the real requirements of the client. Genius Hub provides something that no other system offers: its USP is that all the historical data is recorded. Guy told us that, “With Genius Hub, you can see what it is actually doing”, adding, “The larger systems don’t seem to do the data recording at all!”

What were the main considerations before the purchase?
There were a number of factors considered.

Price was clearly one of them, but comparing the overall cost of other smaller systems, there was no great difference. Simplicity and speed of the installation process were important (it was installed in two days). Ease of use of the app was critical. Guy told us, “It is really good. All the stuff I need without the fluff.”

Bossington Hall wanted to make sure that communication and support would be clear and concise. They found from the outset that Genius Hub have highly trained support staff who understand the system. Guy also said, “A UK first response team was a real plus”.

What were your first impressions of the Genius Hub?

Genius Hub has been around for a long time and has established a good solid reputation. The knowledgeable staff, with a good understanding of the Genius Hub system, underpins this reputation. Guy told us that there are other companies which are either new to the market or do not offer the same level of expertise. He specified the system knowing that Genius Hub works well in buildings like his.

Guy said that he felt that, “The world of BEMS is very closed and you need to understand computer programming to be able to use it. The Genius Hub in comparison gives you more control and it is really easy to use.”

How much has Genius Hub cut their bills?
Having the historical data recorded means that Bossington Hall can evaluate the effectiveness of the Genius Hub at any given time.

At this stage, they report comfortable savings of 20% off their annual bill. However, Guy said, “More importantly, it’s not only the savings, but how guests comment about how warm the Hall is now, which was never the case before”. He believes he could be saving more, but this was as much about giving extra comfort to guests, as saving energy.

Have they benefited in any other way?
Bossington Hall enjoy receiving positive comments from guests about how nice it is to have individual controls in their rooms.

Guy told us he was concerned that guests would play with the controls and he initially watched the system “like a hawk” to see if the temperatures needed adjusting.

He can now see if the system is boosted by a guest but has discovered that, in the main, it is left alone. This suggests that he is getting the room temperatures near enough right from the start.

Book your free Genius Hub survey here!

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The magnificent country house is totally surrounded by National Trust land, and is elevated above the beautiful Vale of Porlock.
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Cleobury Mortimer Golf Club

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CM Golf Club Lodge

CLEOBURY MORTIMER GOLF CLUB

CASE STUDY

WEST MIDLANDS

Cleobury Mortimer Golf Club is found on the Shropshire and Worcestershire border. It has 27 holes split into three 9’s named the Deer Park, Badgers Sett and Foxes Run and is surrounded by scenic rural views. Founded in 1993 by Robert and Graham Pain and designed with Ray Baldwin, Cleobury Mortimer Golf Club is the perfect venue to host many events including the Worcestershire Open Pro AM and some of the biggest charity golf days in the West Midlands. The course continues to improve year on year, their website states it “provides just about everything to satisfy the modern day golfer, their families and their friends.”

The Clubhouse bears all the facilities that a traditional club has to offer including a bar, dining area and conservatory. Set in 200 acres of countryside with views of the Wyre Forest, the Wyre Suite Function Room can cater for Weddings, Exhibitions, Conferences and more. Additionally there are four 4 star self catering lodges available to rent that offer living and dining space with a comfortable, contemporary finish throughout.

The lodges sit next to the course and have views of the loch and course creating the perfect relaxing spot after a day of golf or visiting one of the many local attractions.

How did you hear about Genius Hub?
Genius Hub presented their zoned heating system at the Business Energy Efficiency Programme Conference in March this year.

Why smart heating controls?
The harsh winter that just past has cost considerably more than could have been expected for the golf club. A quarter of the usual annual spend was spent in one month. This cost left the company vulnerable. It led to them having the tank and boiler pressure tested as concerns arose that there may actually be a gas leak which was not the case.

One of the owners, Graham told us: “We thought that we’d get the rest of the year from the last fill of LPG and then it ended up only lasting a month!” They needed to keep guests happy but had no control in doing this.

Cleobury Mortimer Golf Club already have Biomass and other energy efficiency measures like solar thermal for the showers and increased insulation. They wanted to further improve their Green Credentials and decided that tackling the increased cost of the LPG was an opportunity to combine both.

Furthermore, the lodges are situated away from the main building and were either too hot or too cold. Staff would walk to the lodges to adjust the heating manually which itself is not efficient so adding state of the art zoned heating control ticked all of the boxes.

Was there anything to be concerned about?
Genius Hub offered the flexible control that Cleobury Mortimer Golf Club wanted and it was simple to use. Each of the 4 lodges is identical but they needed to control them individually and collectively. They thought that getting one system to cover all would be impossible.

“Businesses need to have control over their overheads” we were told by Graham, “this was difficult and the company feels that it is defenceless against the rising price of LPG.” Bing in a rural area they were limited to certain suppliers and were particularly vulnerable to getting deliveries of LPG in adverse weather conditions. 

Graham explains that “Freezing temperatures meant the delivery may not even arrive when we need it.” They needed to reduce the number of deliveries required to reduce this issue and become less susceptible to price hikes.

Why Genius Hub?
Graham told us, “he felt that Genius Hub was a technological system that offered all the flexibility we needed.” Genius Hub offered a room-by-room heating control with fixed wireless repeaters to ensure the connection is rock-solid and it is controlled by a simple app. Graham adds “Genius Hub were a local company with local installers and salesmen, which was important to us.”

What were your first impressions of the Genius Hub?
Installation of the Genius Hub system was completed within one or two days. It can be done as part of a normal room turn around causing no disruption to guests. Time and care is taken to carry out a free survey and to understand the needs and requirements of the business. The system is designed to provide a specifically tailored solution

Graham tells us, ”Installation was very smooth and well explained by the salesman.” he continues “We were only interested in someone who was willing to come by and see the buildings and survey them. Some other companies tried to quote over the phone and that simply wouldn’t work for are individual requirements.”

CM Golf Club Interior Bed

Can Genius Hub cut their bills?
Genius Hub can offer at least 30% energy savings, but it all depends how it’s used. Genius Hub can provide independent verification of these savings if required.

Have the lodges benefited in any other way?
The lodges have underfloor heating. As a result of guests not understanding it, they increase the temperature to max resulting in the lodge becoming overheated after a few hours, creating spikes in the temperature.

Windows would then be opened to cool the lodge back down. Graham said, “Now they can boost the system from the Genius Hub thermostat in the lodge and after 3 hours it will automatically go back to the settings that we set at reception.” 

Graham concludes, “this is so much better than what we had before, where all of that money that we’d spent on heating was far too often going straight out of the window!”

CM Golf Club Photo Caravan
CM Golf Club Interior

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