Church Heating Projects Case Study

Three projects to heat historic churches using LPHW solutions

Turnbull & Scott has worked closely with the church heating sector over many years to provide highly effective low pressure hot water (LPHW) heating solutions to help withstand even the coldest of winters.

For centuries, churches have been heated by circulating hot water from a boiler through large diameter cast iron pipework. What Turnbull and Scott offers now is a much more effective hot water based heating solution where those thick plain pipes are replaced with a Finned Tube system that utilises a much narrower pipe with a spiral metal ‘fin’ wound around it. This provides a much larger surface area for the circulating air to pick up the heat energy and carry it around the church by means of natural convection.

This versatile Finned Tube can be placed within existing or new floor trenches, along walls within a casing or discretely under pews. Single tubes of up to 6 meters can be supplied with flanged ends to join together with a gasket, or with threaded ends for joining with coupling joints or unions.

Where stylish aesthetics are appreciated, single or multiple in line floor standing Finned Tube Radiators can be configured for use under pews, in vestibules and along corridors. These radiators can be installed horizontally or vertically attached from the floor upwards onto a wall.

The Turnbull and Scott team welcome enquiries to discuss individual projects to ensure customers have the most appropriate Finned Tube solution for their needs. Contact us here.

Installing a large-scale finned tube heating system at Bath Abbey

Turnbull & Scott worked closely with both the Bath Abbey design consultants as well as the installation contractor to provide a large-scale Finned Tube solution to heat this historic Abbey.

Our solution:

  • Supply of 350m of Finned Tube, custom designed and manufactured to deliver the specific heat output required for the Abbey, complete with all bracketry and baffle plates. Each length was powder coated to the client’s colour specification
  • Most of the Finned Tube was used to replace the old existing heating pipework that was installed in floor trenches
  • The remainder was installed in additional trenches that were created to optimize the distribution of heat within the Abbey

Click below if you would like to discuss a custom installation of a Church Heating System.

finned tube heating system at Bath Abbey

Updating the heating system at St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh

Located in the heart of Edinburgh, St Peter’s Episcopal Church required a full renovation of its outdated heating system which centred on 100mm diameter cast iron pipework.

Our solution:

  • Our engineers visited this large Church to fully understand the space and the complete requirements.
  • A highly effective custom designed heating solution based on 50mmNB spiral wound Finned Tube was agreed.
  • This much narrower tube required only 25% of the water volume used by the old system with its 100mm pipework resulting in a much faster warm up time
  • The pre-existing floor trenches were identified as suitable to house the new Finned Tube system and over 200m of this specifically designed Finned Tube was supplied.

Click below if you would like to discuss a custom installation of a Church Heating System.

heating system at St Peter’s Episcopal Church

Providing Finned Tube Radiators at St George’s Church in Barrow-in-Furness

Another great solution to combat the chill of a church is to place the heating solution directly at the feet of the congregation with Turnbull & Scott Finned Tube Radiators.

The heating consultants engaged by St George’s Church, selected these stylish Finned Tube Radiators which sit at floor level underneath the pews, to provide a pleasant warm environment for church goers.

Our Finned Tube Radiators are designed for use with piped LPHW heating systems and standard radiator fittings and are a robust yet stylish way to amplify heat output.

Click below if you would like to discuss a custom installation of a Church Heating System.

Finned Tube Radiators at St George’s Church in Barrow-in-Furness

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