By Apricus Eco Hot Water & Heating
This project was for the replacement of an old end of life coal boiler that had become unreliable, very inefficient, and was inclined to stop working frequently. The current central heating system within the school was working well due to the significant time and effort that was invested. This system had become a huge drain on time for the caretakers and Board of Trustees. The project included Sustainability Contestable Fund application support that demonstrated the poor state of the current boiler and the need for replacement with a reliable and sustainable alternative.
The previous coal boiler in plant room had ash overflowing from the access hatch to the boiler combustion chamber. In order to access it, it was required that all coal slag, clinker and ash were cleared out from the combustion chamber. The BOT Dep Chair had to spend two hours emptying the chamber full of coal whenever ignition malfunctions occurred.
The newly installed system included a cascade of four Pellematic 64kW pellet boilers from ÖkoFEN, Austria. The boilers come with a ten-year warranty with all spare parts and warranty replacements being held on-shore in New Zealand. The boiler and plant room design was checked by our mechanical services contractor Aquaheat Facility Services.
The maintenance requirements on the Pellematic boilers are extremely low. The ash container will need to be emptied after 3-4 tonnes of operation (after approximately 5 weeks based on our school’s heating load). The ash is also a certified organic fertiliser and can be placed directly on our mārakai.
By installing a new pellet boiler system there will be a 99% reduction in carbon emissions compared to the previous use of coal.
The old system:
The new system:
The new pellet storage ensures the school always has fuel on-site for reliable heating with the anticipated heating requirement meaning only one delivery of pellets per year. Pellets are delivered by a vacuum truck which visits the school outside of school hours and only needs to get within 20m of the boiler room using a blower hose.
The boiler is connected to the internet and will be remotely monitored by NZ and Austria based technical experts. The monitoring system automatically sends out alerts for regular maintenance, fuel reordering and any boiler or system faults and errors. As opposed to the previous coal system the pellets are completely harmless, non-toxic and cannot ignite except in the boiler with a forced-air combustion.
Apricus specialises in sustainable hot water and central heating systems for residential and commercial buildings. We work with architects, specifiers, facility managers and homeowners to bring solutions that reduce their environmental impact and meet their hot water and central heating needs.
Apricus brings the latest renewable hot water technologies into the New Zealand market, leading with innovative solar hot water collectors, CO2 hot water heat pumps and pellet biomass boilers. We aim to offer the most reliable eco alternatives to burning fossil fuels like gas, oil and coal.
Our products include:
Our pellet biomass boilers are produced by one of Europe's leading manufacturers, ÖkoFEN, a specialist in pellet boilers and a supplier of space-saving, cost-effective, simple solutions for storing pellets. Offering storage tanks suitable for all space and pellet requirements. The pellet boilers can provide enough hot water for even the most extensive home heating needs, using radiators, underfloor pipework, or a combination. The wood pellets burned are made in New Zealand from waste sawdust and wood shavings, providing 100% renewable heating, whatever the temperature outside.
Our range of hot water heat pumps use some of the most environmentally friendly refrigerants while offering outstanding performance. The very low global warming potential makes these systems the perfect electric alternative to gas hot water systems. Households can now reduce their energy costs and improve the sustainability of their home with ease.
The Apricus solar systems have robust frames, easy-to-use controllers and high-efficiency pumps. The high-performance, reliable designs can withstand New Zealand’s extreme environmental conditions. This is combined with a careful focus on quality and continual improvement by the team at Apricus International.
All complete system packages are individually designed for maximum savings, and on-shore technical support and global experience ensure quality and precision for every installation.