Dimplex Ascari electric boilers warm Highland Council tenants in a remote area of the Scottish Highlands

(22/05/2008)

Highland Council’s installation of new central heating systems powered by the Dimplex Ascari electric boiler means that life is now set to become much more comfortable for tenants in a remote area of the Scottish Highlands.

Around 30 households in the Ross-shire area of the Highlands have faced the regular predicament of uncertain fuel supplies, so it was decided to switch to electric heating for a more dependable supply.

Everwarm, part of the EAGA Group, installed 30 Ascaris as part of a Highland Council contract to fit 100 Ascaris in tenants’ homes in Dingwall. Although 70 of the houses were in Dingwall itself, the remainder were scattered in remote locations outside the town. A second contractor, Wyvis Building Services, installed a further 65 Ascaris in properties in Fort William, at the foot of Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest mountain.

Dave Chapman of Everwarm said that the installations in the 30 remote homes lent themselves perfectly to the Ascari. “Most of the properties were previously heated by coal fires with back boilers and tenants were having to stockpile coal supplies in case their homes were cut off by heavy snow. But because the Ascari is an electric boiler, the supply will virtually always be there, so tenants no longer have any concerns about fuel getting through.”

For the Fort William contract, Wyvis Building Services specified the Ascari after carrying out extensive research on the boiler. Managing director Iain Urquhart said, “Dimplex’s support was excellent, with personnel coming to the North of Scotland to provide in-house product training for us. They also visited some of the first houses to have the boiler installed in Fort William, to go through the settings again and confirm that everything we had learnt in the classroom had been put to good use.”

Feedback on the installations from Highland Council tenants has been very favourable. They like the boiler and its controllability and are using the Ascari to take full advantage of Scotland’s Economy 10 tariff.

Eddie Boyd, principal engineer at Highland Council, said the Ascaris were fitted into bungalows, semi detached and terraced houses as part of a total heating replacement programme for its housing stock of 14,500 properties.

Related categories:  Boilers - Commercial   Electric heating   Residential applications 

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