Oversands School, located near the village of Witherslack, is a specialist residential and day school providing education for young people with special educational needs. The school has an impressive track record for for its pupils, as well as its work with the local community.

The previous oil-based boilers were not only costly to run but resulted in a high carbon footprint. So the school decided to look at a more eco-friendly option – and came to an agreement with Witherslack Hall Estate to use coppice and unsaleable timber from nearby woods to generate heat and hot water through a new biomass system. The result is a solution with that is more energy efficient, cheaper to run and more sustainable thanks to the use of Flexalen 600 pipe to enhance the low carbon footprint of the project.

Around 230 metres of the Flexalen pre-insulated pipe work was required for the project, which was specified by Building Consultants, Troup, Bywaters & Anders due to its flexibility for ease of installation and good thermal and pressure loss performance. This results in improved overall energy efficiency, lower long term life cycle costs and extended operational periods between pipe replacements.

Sandy Fairley, Flexenergy's Sales Director commented: "It is good to see that we have been able to support a project that provides a heating solution for the school that is energy efficient and environmentally friendly. The biomass used for the boilers is exclusively locally grown and requires almost no treatment thanks to the ability of the boilers to burn large solid pieces of wood. This contributes positively to cost effectiveness and because negligible transport/processing is involved, it's a major plus point for carbon reduction."

Witherslack Hall Estate owner, Nicholas Stanley, added: "This is an exceptionally low-carbon heating solution, which supports Witherslack Woodland's high grade conservation work – notably for butterflies – while providing jobs for rural workers."

www.flexenergy.co.uk