Potterton Commercial boilers are working alongside products from Andrews Water Heaters and SenerTec to bring heating and hot water to Oakham School, an independent school in Oakham, Leicestershire. Potterton Commercial and Oakham School have worked together for 12 years.
Oakham School, founded in 1584, is an independent boarding and day school for girls and boys aged 10 to 18. Oakham School’s ethos is based on offering pupils a rounded education, where academic study takes the lead, but sport, music, the arts, the community and a range of other activities follow closely behind. There are 1,000 pupils at the school, half of which live in boarding houses located across the site.
At the school, a total of 34 Potterton Commercial Paramount boilers are installed across 10 plant rooms, along with 13 MAXXflo water heaters from Andrews Water Heaters and four SenerTec Dachs mini-CHP units. Working together as part of an interlinked system, the products deliver ample heating and hot water for Oakham School’s wide range of facilities and its boarding houses.
Commenting on the relationship between Oakham School and Potterton Commercial, the school’s deputy estates bursar, Patrick Trower, explains: “I remember seeing an advert for an 80kW wall hung Potterton boiler in a leaflet. I was intrigued and really interested in learning more about it – and the rest is history. I arranged a meeting with Potterton Commercial and subsequently began a rolling programme to convert all the boarding houses to sealed hot water systems, using Paramount boilers and MAXXflo water heaters. One of the reasons we opted for the MAXXflo was because of its unique design – it has four separate burners which all modulate.
“We introduced the Dachs CHP units a few years ago; we were keen to use a ‘green’ technology that could deliver cost savings. We have a swimming pool on site, and that was ideal for our first Dachs installation because of the constant demand for heat. In the science faculty, we store the heated water in two buffer vessels, which are used to preheat both hot water and the heating services.
“We have our own in-house Gas Safe Registered maintenance team at Oakham School, and they regularly attend Potterton Commercial, Andrews Water Heaters and SenerTec training courses, and that support makes a big difference. We always know there’ll be someone available if we need any advice or technical assistance, which, for us, is essential. Keeping a heating and hot water system up and running is important for any school, but for a boarding school it’s critical. Many of our students are here 24/7, so, much like a hotel, we need heating and hot water all day and all night. There’s constant demand, which is also another reason why the Dachs CHP units were a good choice for us.”
Neville Small, sales director at Potterton Commercial, said: “Our relationship with Oakham School demonstrates that it’s the ongoing support and service we offer, combined with reliable, efficient products, which makes a difference to our customers. We know that customers view our products as dependable and reliable, but this equally applies to our people.”
