Case Study: Onion Top Windmill with curved Thermaskirt
When Jane & Steve Pluta wanted to renovate their unique and charming Windmill, they naturally considered the whole house heating system.
The Challenge
The problem with the existing radiator system was that it did not suit the style (or shape!) of the Windmill, which retains the distinctive ‘onion’ top often lost over the years on most of the windmills in the County.
Underfloor Heating (UFH) was considered as a way of making best use of the space and freeing up the curved walls, but the cost and possible structural implications of digging up the floors in a building dating from the1600’s, was simply not practical.
Steve tasked his plumber with finding an ‘alternative to UFH’ – and he googled just that, finding ThermaSkirt – the skirting board that heats your home.
The Solution
As Seen on Dragons Den, ThermaSkirt is a radiator designed to look like a skirting board providing an even and comfortable heat, all around the room at low level – just like UFH. The skirting boards are made from a very energy efficient aluminium polymer, with the hot water pipes ‘moulded’ into the back. When the hot water passes through the skirting boards, they heat up and radiate warmth into the room. such an obvious solution and not just for
the round rooms.
What really caught Steve & Jane’s imagination was the ability to curve the ThermaSkirt to suit the shape of the walls, and the option to install on the plinths of the kitchen units – giving them more free walls to create additional cupboards space. In addition, being above ground, the system was installed with the minimum of fuss and disturbance using most of the original pipework, and responds very quickly whatever the floor covering – carpet, wood or tiles.
ThermaSkirt is available in more than 5 styles and 7 colours (with any colour available to special order) so Jane and Steve were able to specify ThermaSkirt in Urban LT Cricket White for the circular living rooms, and Golden Oak on the fronts of the kitchen units. The ‘Deco’ profile provides a wall of warmth across the patio doors to ensure even the coldest area of the property is comfortably heated.
The Result
“When we moved into The Mill last year, one of our top priorities was to improve the heating, both the effectiveness and aesthetics being critical. Radiators on a curved tapering wall do not look good, underfloor heating was our first thought but it soon became apparent it would restrict our choice of floor covering and to get the necessary levels of floor insulation for UFH on the ground floors, the installation would have created far too much disruption and mess.
Providing even heat all the way around the rooms at ground level in the skirting seemed such an obvious solution and not just for the round rooms. Removing the radiators from the bedrooms has given us far more flexibility in layout and made all the rooms look and feel much bigger.
We had our first (long) winter and have been very pleased with the system. ThermaSkirt is the future of heating.” Steve Pluta