Smith’s Fan Convectors has provided its new Caspian Concealed fan convectors to heat the beautiful former home of Sir William Gilbert, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame, Grim’s Dyke Hotel in Old Redding, Harrow Weald, London. The listed building was built between 1870-72 and the hotel joined Best Western in 2013.
The hotel’s heating system had seen better days and the owners were keen to invest in efficient heating that would maintain the listed building’s aesthetics. Keypark Ltd, the contractors, proposed Smith’s Caspian Universal Concealed fan convectors as the best-fit solution. The Caspian Concealed has been successfully installed in a number of rooms, using its inherent design to conceal the fan convectors beautifully, without compromising the internal fabric of the building or the fan convection heating.
John Parker, the hotel’s General Manager explains, “One of the challenges with this listed building is that the windows are very large and can’t be double-glazed. The previous style of heating simply didn’t cope in really cold weather and with any of our regular events, the main door is continually open. The fan convectors respond to this temperature change and cope with the sudden demand easily and effortlessly. The new boilers and fan convector heating have meant that we no longer have to supplement the heating with additional electrical appliances, which has already made a positive impact on our heating costs. The combination of more efficient, new boilers and using thermostats to control the fan convectors means that we do not have to continually adjust the heating because the temperature around the hotel is always consistent.”
The contractor was Bob Churchill of Keypark Ltd. He said, “Using Smith’s Caspian Concealed fan convectors in this Grade 2 listed building has meant that the heating has been greatly improved without any disturbance to the fabric of the interiors. We have installed radio frequency controllers to manage the Caspians and the hotel has been extremely pleased with the products and the high standard of workmanship involved in the project.”
Like all Smith’s fan convectors, the Caspian Universal Concealed (UVC) is compatible with all types of wet central heating systems, possessing as standard the latest EC motor technology. It comes with variable speed control as standard and is also compatible with other control devices and has four different main accessories which can work together in any combination to create the recessed or concealed heating solution requirements depending on the project specification. Like the Caspian Universal, this is a versatile heating solution for a variety of applications – suitable for high, low or ceiling concealed installations; it can even be turned upside down. 
For more information contact Smith’s Fan Convectors on 01245 324900; visit www.smiths-env.com; follow Smiths Fan Convectors on LinkedIn; or email via [email protected].