The Client
Grim’s Dyke Hotel, Old Redding, Harrow Weald, London, built in 1870 and completed in 1872. It is the beautiful former home of Sir William Gilbert, one half of the famous musical partnership of Gilbert and Sullivan with 46 stylish rooms, a 2AA rosette restaurant, and it became part of Best Western in 2013.
The Challenge
The hotel’s heating system was old with boilers that had seen better days and natural convection heating sited below windows around the hotel. New heating was required that would keep the building’s aesthetics intact.
The Solution
Smith’s Caspian Universal Concealed fan convectors were the best-fit solution, ticking all the requirements the hotel had for its central heating. They have been successfully installed in a number of rooms, including the restaurant and the prestigious music room, which has four, carefully concealed in the fabric of the building. The concealment of the fan convectors has been done beautifully, without any compromise to the internal fabric of the building or to the fan convection heating. The hotel is now much more welcoming and warm for guests and visitors when they arrive during the cooler months of year.
The Products
The contractor was performed by Bob Churchill, Keypark Ltd, who said, “This Grade 2 listed building’s heating has been greatly improved by using Smith’s Caspian Concealed fan convectors without any disturbance to the fabric of the interiors. Previously, the static radiators just couldn’t deliver the volume of heat required to keep this building warm enough. We have installed radio frequency controllers to manage the Caspians and the hotel has been 
extremely pleased with both the products and the high standard of workmanship in the project.”
The Caspian Concealed is perfect for heritage restorations and projects where the physical appearance of the building is essential to the overall appeal of the building.
Like all Smith’s fan convectors, the Caspian Universal Concealed (UVC) is compatible with all types of wet central heating systems. It functions equally efficiently connected to conventional boilers or renewables such as air source heat pumps and possesses as standard the latest EC motor technology. It comes with variable speed control as standard, is compatible with other control devices and has a free five-year parts and labour warranty.
The Caspian Concealed has four different main accessories which work together in any combination to create a recessed or concealed heating solution depending on the project specification. Suitable for high, low or ceiling concealed installations, it can even be turned upside down.