The year-round demands for hot water and heating at the Dunstan High School boarding hostel made it an ideal candidate for a wood-fired system when air emissions consents came up for renewal at this Central Otago site.  Tightening emissions regulations meant that the old coal system had to go, as it was an ongoing source of particulate pollution in the inversion-prone town of Alexandra.  The highly specified 250kW Binder step-grate boiler will bring the school a level of control and automation which they could only dream of with coal, as well as ultra-low particulate emissions.

Tasked with coping not only with the bitter cold of the Alexandra winter, the boiler also provides hot water for showers and catering requirements year-round.  The use of the hostel as a source of income - by hosting seasonal workers and sports teams in the school holidays - had two implications for the heating system.  One, it had to be reliable and up to the year-round task, and two, it had to be cheap to run.  Not only will their Binder wood-fired boiler provide years of trouble free service, the low running costs of a wood-fired system will leave more money at the end of the year to improve the school facitities.

   
An almost successful coal delivery               New 250kW Binder boiler during installation

Living Energy have worked with school and hostel staff from the outset to achieve the best possible outcome on this project, including helping them to benefit from hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Government pilot Renewable Heating in Schools programme.

We have been responsible for the full turn-key scope at Dunstan, directing local sub-contractors to complete the electrical, building and pipework modifications, and our own factory-trained team on the boiler installation.  This project includes a Mus-Max chip blower, which we specified, sourced and installed in order to maximise the fuel storage space adjacent to the boiler house.  Living Energy are now the sole agents for Mus-Max in New Zealand.

Living Energy's unique skill-set and innovative approach have overcome the considerable technical challenges of this coal-to-wood conversion, giving the school and the boarding pupils a heating system which is fit for the future.