As any holiday home, caravan and camp site operator can testify, running out of hot water at peak times when visitors need to shower is the stuff of nightmares, So a system that instantly and constantly gives a supply of safe, temperature controlled hot water with no danger of it ever running out has to be top of the wish list.
Rinnai gas fired continuous flow water heaters are delivering this peace of mind to caravan and camping sites and holiday parks all over the UK, whether the sites are on-grid for Natural Gas or using LPG.
One such business is Stone Pitt Caravan Park with self-catering cottages, static caravans and pitches for 36 tourers. The park is recognised for its commitment to sustainability and conservation. So, when it was time to replace the hot water system in the shower block Rinnai stepped up to supply a sustainable option.
Rinnai technical staff visited the site and specified 3m3 of solar thermal evacuate solar thermal tubes linked to a Rinnai HDC 1500 internal condensing unit with a 300 litre buffer tank.
As well as supplying eight showers and eight hand basins in the shower block, the Rinnai system also provides hot water for a laundry sink and two wash-up areas with no problems whatsoever. “We already have solar panels on the holiday cottages which have been supplying hot water for the past seven years and also solar PV panels elsewhere so it was a natural progression to upgrade to a solar thermal system on the shower block. The idea being to reduce energy costs – they won’t get any better on their own – and to extend our sustainability,” says Phil. “It is certainly going to be a boon in July and August with no worries at peak times when everybody comes back for the beach at the same time and wants showers.”
According to Chris Goggin of Rinnai UK: “Continuous flow systems are far more energy efficient than storage systems, and the preferred method of heating water where gas and water services allow. Caravan parks are a prime example of this, as they require high volumes of safe temperature controlled hot water at intermittent times of the day. With the Rinnai continuous flow solar thermal hot water system, there is no chance of running out of hot water, whilst maximising renewable gains.”
Croft Farm offers 80 tent and touring pitches and two and four-person chalets are also available while in the Pod Village with each Pod sleeping four people. Nearby toilet and shower blocks service the touring pitches and the static facilities.
The Rinnai units were first installed in the fitness center and in a separate shower block. The leisure park has now upgraded another shower and toilet block replacing an old, dated and inefficient electric system with two Rinnai Infinity HDC 1500 externally mounted water heaters. By using the robust external units designed to stand up to all weather conditions including frost, there is no need to dedicate internal space for them as they happily sit on an external wall, which also means there is no flueing to worry about, thereby keeping installation costs down.
At other leisure and touring parks installers report that 20% fuel savings are not uncommon.
