The development of historical property Swaylands in Penshurst, Kent benefitted from a sympathetic underfloor heating design from Nu-Heat. Swaylands is a Victorian mansion built in 1842 within 40 acres of private grounds that include a lake, sunken garden and a major rock garden. The building itself features mullioned windows, castellated turrets and a wonderful collection of ornate chimneys.

Post World War 2, Swaylands was used as a school for boys with special needs, but the building had lain empty since 1994. Bought by a developer for £9.4 million in 2005, the house was restored to something of its former glory, albeit now divided into 28 apartments.

The restoration process ensured that the character of the building was retained whilst making sympathetic use of modern techniques. The internal specification was extremely high, to match the quality of the property. With huge windows the option of oversized radiators (necessary due to high heat losses) was impractical due to minimal location options. The solution of underfloor heating made certain that all the original features could be retained and that each of the very individual, luxury apartments could utilize every inch of available wall space.

This was not a typical straightforward UFH installation due to the high heat losses and need to retain the original single glazing due to listings constraints. Additionally no external alterations were allowed, which would have increased the efficiency of the building envelope. Nu-Heat spent three days on site assessing the build structure and running a complete audit of the building fabric. This led to the recommendation of internal insulation to be integrated within the build to aid heat retention. The use of UFH also provided an ideal acoustic solution to the need for neighbours to be unaware of adjacent properties.

After a full heat loss assessment, Nu-Heat provided the developers with suitable UFH solutions that could address any performance issues. In a few of the extreme fully glazed areas of the building it was decided that UFH alone would not be suitable as a sole heat source. The full heat loss analysis enabled the developer to integrate minimal impact radiator solutions to work in conjunction with the UFH.

Residents of the completed development are now enjoying the comfortable, radiant heat afforded by Nu-Heat’s expert underfloor heating design skills.

Project Images (click to enlarge)