Palmerston Fort – OMNIE Underfloor Heating, Heat Pumps & Ventilation
We - and our partners - use cookies to deliver our services and personalise your experience. By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.
×
Get a Quote
OMNIE for Developers
System Design
Underfloor Heating
Underfloor Heating
Why UFH?
Explore the Range
Floating Floors
Floating Floors
FoilFloat
LowBoard
Back
Batten Floors
Batten Floors
FoilBatten
TorFloor
Back
Suspended Floors
Suspended Floors
FoilBoard
TorFloor
Underplate
Back
Screeded Floors
Screeded Floors
ScreedPlate
ScreedPlate Compact
Staple
Back
Acoustic Floors
Acoustic Floors
New Acoustic Range
TorFloor RdB
LowBoard RdB
Back
Low Build Up
Low Build Up
LowBoard
TileOver Ultimate
Back
Manifolds & Pipe
Manifolds & Pipe
Precision-Flo Manifold
OMNIFLO Pipe
FORMUFLO Pipe
Back
Back
Heat Pumps
Ventilation & Heat Recovery
Controls
Technical Support
Technical Support
Datasheets & Guides
FAQs
Support Hub
Tile Adhesives Calculator
Back
Technical Resources
Case Studies
Get in touch
Book a RIBA CPD Course
About OMNIE
Call us today 01392 36 36 05
Home | Case Studies
Case Study

Palmerston Fort

5th April 2018

The famous Palmerston Forts arranged along the South Coast of England were built to be solid enough to resist invasion by Napoleonic forces, but the resulting thermal mass and exposed locations make them very hard to heat. It is, however, a challenge that has been effectively met using a selection of products from our timber and solid floor range linked to a hybrid renewable energy source.

Fort Albert on the Isle of Wight was completed in 1856 to defend the Needles Passage, which gives access to Portsmouth with its strategically important naval dockyard. Still in use during World War II, it remained in military ownership until the 1950s, when it was sold and converted for domestic use. It still offered little comfort for its occupants until the current owners began a comprehensive refurbishment and improvement project. The Isle of Wight is actually on course to become the first zero carbon area of Britain and Fort Albert’s owners accordingly commissioned an advanced building services solution, which utilises an air source heat pump and solar thermal panels to harvest free energy to supply the heating and hot water. PV panels also help meet the large home’s electricity needs, but in order to achieve the most efficient transference from the heat pump to the occupied spaces, OMNIE TorFloor Batten, TorFloor Suspended and LowBoard systems were used on both ground and upper floors.


Addressing the unusual layout to the former fort with its variations in floor construction, our technical department provided comprehensive floor-plans showing the positions of the multiple heating loops and the locations of the manifolds, as well as section drawings indicating the depths of the different layers to the systems. Across the ground floor, the entrance hall, sitting room, dining-room and kitchen, OMNIE TorFloor Suspended and TorFloor Batten were used, with LowBoard employed across the concrete slab within the area of the old look-out tower. These were connected up via two manifolds: the first feeding a dozen loops containing almost 700m of pipe, while the second had a further 540m in eight loops. Up on the first floor, a further two manifolds feed the underfloor heating in five bedrooms and varying sizes of bathrooms, all using OMNIE TorFloor Suspended. Here nine loops are connected to one manifold that features just two loops with 123m of pipe, while the second feeds nine loops running for over 400m.
Although the builders had fitted insulation between the joists to help ensure the efficiency of the heat transfer to the rooms, the installer took just four days to install the 1800m of pipework and other components from our three OMNIE underfloor heating systems. The M&E specialist also connected the underfloor heating to the hybrid heat pump and solar system on the fort’s roof. Given the technical and logistical challenges of the installation within a building which requires respect as a historic monument, Fort Albert stands as a landmark installation for our high performance underfloor heating and free comprehensive system design service.

Already have an OMNIE product or system?

Get product support

Leave a product review

Get in touch with your local expert

Find user guides and manuals

Get in touch

Call our projects team
01392 36 36 05
(8am - 5:30pm)

Chat online with a project manager

PRODUCTS
  • Underfloor Heating
  • Network Controls
  • Heat Pumps
INFORMATION
  • About Us
  • Resources
  • FAQs & Support
  • Terms & conditions
  • Privacy & Cookie Policy
FOLLOW US
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
NEWS & UPDATES

© OMNIE