Albany Road Baptist Church in Roath, Cardiff, was our largest commercial heating installation project to date. With an ageing system struggling to warm the building, the church needed a replacement that could deliver faster heating, independent control over different areas and improved reliability.
As part of our commercial boiler installation services in Cardiff, we designed and installed a system combining twin Alpha boilers, zoned heating controls, new radiators and ceiling-mounted destratification fans. The installation serves the main church hall, entrance hall and offices at the front and rear of the building.
For our team, this was also a project with a personal connection to the local community.
A Project with a Personal Connection
Our involvement began when Peter Littlechild, the church’s Community Coordinator, contacted us to submit a tender for the complete removal and replacement of the existing heating installation.
Albany Road Baptist Church is a welcoming community hub serving people in Roath and Penylan. For Bernard, the project had a particular personal significance. Having grown up in Roath, attended the church and youth centre, and walked past the building ten times a week on his way to Howardian High School, he already had a longstanding connection to the church.
That connection made the opportunity to improve the church’s heating particularly meaningful. Our aim was to give this much-used building a system suited to the way its congregation, staff and community use it.
Why the Existing Heating System Needed Replacing
The church’s old heating system had become inefficient and expensive to run, with mounting repair and maintenance costs.
Warm-up times were a particular concern. From cold, the existing installation could take around 24 hours and still struggle to reach 18°C. This made preparing the main hall for services and other activities difficult.
The building itself added to the challenge. Stone construction, stained-glass windows, a vaulted ceiling approximately ten metres high and no insulation meant that both heat loss and heat distribution needed careful consideration.
The church also needed more flexibility. The front and rear offices are often occupied when the main hall is not in use, so heating the building as one space did not suit its day-to-day needs.
Designing a New Heating System for the Church
Working with the church team, we established a brief covering comfort, control and reliability. The replacement system needed to:
- Heat the main hall, entrance hall and front and rear offices.
- Reduce the time needed to reach the required temperature from cold.
- Allow different areas to be heated independently.
- Help reduce energy consumption and running costs.
- Remain sympathetic to the character of the building.
- Use twin boilers that share operating hours and provide some backup if one boiler fails.
Meeting these requirements within the available budget and installation schedule was central to the planning process.
Through site visits, discussions and consideration of different options, we developed a design around the church’s particular needs. This included looking beyond the boilers themselves to consider radiator provision, heating controls and the movement of warm air within the main hall.
Installing Twin Alpha Boilers
We installed two Alpha Pro-Tec 48NX boilers, configured to share running hours and operate together or individually according to heating demand. When less heat is required, the system can run on one boiler. Having two boilers also provides a degree of backup if one becomes unavailable, although a single boiler may not meet the building’s full heating demand in every condition.
BT Morgan was also able to secure a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty for each boiler, an unusually long period of cover for this type of installation. Alpha has confirmed the warranty for both units. Annual servicing and compliance with Alpha’s terms and conditions are required to keep the cover valid.
The installation also included:
- Reverse-return pipework.
- A plate heat exchanger to separate the boiler circuit from the wider heating system.
- Two shunt pumps.
- A Mini Fill automatic system top-up unit.
- Expansion vessels sized to the system volume.
- A magnetic system filter.
Together, these components support the operation and protection of the new heating system.
Zoned Heating for Different Areas
One of the most important changes was giving the church greater control over where and when heat is needed.
We installed 20 compact white Thermopanel radiators, alongside 17 EPH smart thermostatic radiator valves and two EPH programmers.
The zoned arrangement allows the church to heat occupied areas without bringing the whole building up to temperature. For example, office use does not necessarily require the main hall to be heated at the same time.
Internet-connected time and temperature controls also allow multiple authorised users to manage the heating. This gives the church team greater flexibility when planning around services, office hours and community activities.
For a building with different spaces used throughout the week, this control was an important part of the church heating installation.
Improving Heat Distribution in the Main Hall
Heating the main hall required more than simply replacing the boilers and radiators.
Warm air rises, which can leave heat collecting high above the occupied space in a building with a tall vaulted ceiling. To help redistribute that warmth, we installed two ceiling-mounted Airius destratification fans.
These fans circulate warmer air from high level back towards the occupied area, helping to create a more even temperature throughout the hall.
For this installation, the fans were configured to operate when heating is first requested. A wall-mounted speed control panel allows the church team to adjust their operation and switch them off during services when required.
This addresses an important part of the original brief: making better use of heat where the congregation sits.
The Results Following Installation
Following installation, the new system was reported to achieve target temperatures within hours from cold. This represents a substantial improvement over the previous system, which could take around 24 hours and still struggle to reach 18°C.
The church also now benefits from:
- Independent heating zones, allowing staff to heat the areas being used.
- Flexible time and temperature control, with internet access for multiple users.
- Shared boiler operation, with one or both boilers running according to demand.
- Improved air circulation in the main hall, helping move warmth down from ceiling level.
The system was designed to improve efficiency and reduce the burden of maintaining an ageing installation. Actual fuel savings and longer-term maintenance costs will need to be assessed through ongoing use.
The combination of faster warm-up times and more flexible controls gives the church a heating system better suited to its varied weekly schedule.
Thank You to Everyone Involved
A project of this size depends on the expertise and commitment of everyone involved.
We would like to thank Phil Jones at Alpha, part of Immergas, along with Richard Eldridge, Dan, Alpha’s commercial engineer, and the wider Alpha team for their assistance and technical support.
Our thanks also go to Sam Pearce of SP Electricals and our engineers Elliott, Jack, Dean and Carl.
Most of all, we thank the Albany Road Baptist Church team for entrusting us with the installation, particularly Peter Littlechild and Jeremy.
It has been a privilege to contribute to a building with such a strong connection to the local community.
Planning a Commercial Heating Project in Cardiff?
Churches and community buildings can have very different heating requirements, particularly where large halls and smaller offices are used at different times.
At BT Morgan Heating Engineers, we provide commercial boiler and heating installations in Cardiff and South Wales, with system designs based on the building and how it is used.
If your current heating is slow to warm up, difficult to control or becoming unreliable, contact our team to discuss your requirements.