First release in New Zealand of Orbit domestic central heating system by hot water

Press, 19 April 1979, Page 10

First release in New Zealand of Orbit domestic central heating system by hot water

Heating by hot water in New Zealand has, up until now, been generally found in hosptials, schools, commercial buildings and hotels. These installations require first class heating, capable of fine control and minimum running costs.

Recently, however, there has been a growing awareness by the public of the qualities inherent in hot water centra! heating systems for homes as widely used overseas. In the home, the effect is one of cosy warmth because the hottest part of the system is the water and in comparison with other forms of heating the surface temperatures of heaters is noticably less. This gives an over-all effect of a pleasant summer day where one is not conscious of heat or the excessive drying of the air.

The hot water for these systems can be provided by appliances using electricity, oil, gas or solid fuel; the latter being either automatically or manually fired, the others operating automatically.

A totally new concept has just been introduced onto the market and is being launched in Christchurch at the Canterbury Building Centre’s winter heating exhibition. This new concept is a direct result of an extensive market research programme throughout New Zealand, which indicated the following features were desirable in the ideal heating system for New Zealand conditions:

(1) The central heating system should be economic in operation and use one of New' Zealand’s own energy resources.

(2) In addition to heating the home, it should form a supplementary source of energy for heating the water stored in hot water storage cylinders.

(3) The heating systems’ central unit should have visual appeal to allow it to be a focal point for a

room so that, ideally, a fire should be seen and should have sufficient capacity to heat the whole house. However, the balance of heat output between the heating circuit and the direct heat from the boiler should suit average New Zealand house designs.

(4) The heating system should be simple to run and convenient to fuel. (5) It was also considered desirable that the system could be used in some form or another during the summer months to provide cool air circular tion.

(6) That all parts of the system were designed to be attractive and that the colours should be neutral. (7) That the system should not dry out the air. (8) That the system should be able to be installed in existing houses with minimum disturbance to existing decor and fittings. (9) And, to ensure customer satisfaction, it was regarded as vital that the system could be installed by personnel thoroughly trained in the design, installation, commissioning and maintenance so that customers could be assured of a thoroughly efficient and economical purchase. A. and T. Burt, Ltd, who have long been regarded as one of New Zealand’s leading heating and ventilation companies have produced a system which incorporates all of the essentially desirable features mentioned above. The resultant system is called “The Orbit Solid Fuel Domestic Heating System,” designed, developed and manufactured in Christchurch to suit South Island conditions. The Orbit Solid Fuel Domestic Heating System offers home owners central heating for their complete homes including a supplementary source of domestic hot water heating for as little as He per hour at maximum fuel burning rate.

The central unit is a coal fired boiler which provides 4.1 kw of heat output for direct heating and 6.6 kw of heating through a hot .water heating circuit which is enough to supply not only a domestic hot water heating but also three additional room heaters. The boiler is thermostatically controlled to ensure economy of operation and has been designed so that the coal fire can be seen and needs recharging only once every six hours at maximum output. The boiler which w'as developed to comply with the clean air regulations is self-feeding from an inbuilt fuel storage hopper and is designed to burn sub-bituminous pea grade grade coal.

The three heaters which form the remainder of the system can be installed anywhere in the 'house and are all attractively finished in neutral colours. The two main units are Orbit Mini-Vectors which, in addition to the normal benefits associated with water heating systems, are safer especially for children because they operate with very low surface temperatures; cleaner because they have washable air filters incorporated in their air intake.

They are cheaper to run because they are thermostatically controlled and much more convenient as they are simple to operate and have a two-speed fan

which on high speed gives extremely fast warm up times.

The mini-vectors, having a 3.75 kW output, are very small and most attractive allowing them to be fitted in a very small space, their woodgrain and bronze finish allowing them to blend with almost any decor. They are also an all year round asset in that they can be run on “fan only” during the summer to give cool air circulation. The third heater is a 2m length' of fineline skirting heater, already established as an ideal domestic heating unit for hot water heating systems where natural convection is desirable e.g. hall, foyers or stair wells.

As previously mentioned, particular care to satisfy the requirements established in the market research programme was always in the minds of the research and development team and every component in the system was developed to ensure simple installation methods so as to reduce the cost of the total installation. This attention to detail extended to the development of a mini-heat exchanger which means the installation of a heating coil in the hot water cylinder is not necessary. Burts have undertaken to train a number of installers in each main centre, as these systems are introduced into the market, to ensure those

home owners wishing to experience the true luxury of fully automatic hot water central heating can be assured that the system will be economic, convenient and efficient. A. and T. Burt are offering in the Orbit Solid Fuel Central Heating System the most economic, fully integrated, researched and developed domestic heating system in New Zealand which utilises our own energy resources.

A display showing all of the salient features and components of this new concept in domestic central heating is now on display at the Canterbury Building Centre’s Heating ’79 Show. Anybody considering central heating of any type this winter should not miss this opportunity to see the latest developments in this industry at the exhibition.