Radiant cassettes creating a warm environment in Farnham Village Hall, Essex

Village Hall Heating Systems

Village halls and community halls are used for a wide variety of activities ranging from jumble sales and Pilates classes to badminton and even indoor football. Because it is almost impossible to predict the next activity to be catered for, it is important that the selected heating system is as flexible as possible.

Here is three of the most important considerations when selecting a heating system for a village hall.

1. High Mounting Position

Heaters mounted at high level will not occupy valuable wall or floor space and are less susceptible to mechanical damage. High level heaters also allow a more flexible use of space. For example, furniture can be re-positioned without having to take heaters into account.

2. Silent Operation

Silent radiant heaters tend to be preferred to noisy fan heaters. This may not be an issue for a rumbustious Scout group but could be very important when the hall is used for committee meetings and similar events.

Radiant cassettes can be mounted up to 9m meaning they do no interfere with activities/wall space at ground level

Cassettes are usually controlled via a thermostat and a timer to ensure running costs are kept to a minimum

3. Lowest Possible Running Costs

This point is so obvious it barely needs mentioning! However there are features about the patterns of community halls and village halls that make this consideration even more important. Some halls are used constantly and others are used sporadically.

In the next section of this article, we will examine the differences between long-wave and shortwave radiant heating and it will become clear that shortwave heating is better suited to sporadically used halls.

Long-Wave Radiant Heaters

Long-wave radiant cassettes are BN Thermic’s preferred means of heating village halls and community halls. The cassettes are generally ceiling-mounted or wall-mounted at high level and controlled by a suitable thermostat and programmable timer. Radiant cassettes operate silently, have a smart, modern appearance and critically do not emit any light. However, radiant cassettes are not instantly effective meaning that a degree of pre-heating is required.

Please click here for full details of BN Thermic’s radiant cassettes

Cassettes have a smart white finish and do look intrusive when installed

Quartz heaters providing instant comfort heat in Redesdale Hall, Moreton-in-Marsh , Gloucestershire

Shortwave Quartz Halogen Heaters

Halogen heaters do not require any pre-heating whatsoever. This makes halogen heaters ideal for village halls that are used on a sporadic and/or unpredictable basis. The heaters tend to be wall-mounted at high level and controlled by devices such as time delay switches or movement sensors to ensure that they are not left on when the hall is unoccupied.

Because halogen heaters operate in the shortwave part of the spectrum, some light output is inevitable. However the introduction of BN Thermic’s Magic Lamp reduces the light intensity to a barely discernible glow.

It should be noted that halogen heaters use glass halogen lamps making less resistant to mechanical damage than radiant cassettes.

Please click here for full details of BN Thermic’s range of halogen heaters including Magic Lamp models

Designing a Village Hall Heating System

Designing a village hall heating system, whether using radiant cassettes or halogen heaters, need to be carefully designed. The engineers at BN Thermic are very experienced and are always on hand to assist on 01293 547 361.

When required, they will visit a village hall, carry out a survey and provide a bespoke heating proposal. There is a never a charge for this service.

An example of a heating scheme designed by a BN Thermic engineer

Village Hall Heating Systems FAQ & Guide

Are infrared heaters good for a Village Hall?

Yes, infrared radiant heaters are an ideal means of heating a village hall or community hall. For continuously used halls, we generally recommend a heating system that includes longwave radiant cassettes. However for intermittently used halls, instantly effective quartz halogen heaters may be more suitable.

Can I use radiant heaters that don’t produce light?

BN Thermic recommends two types of radiant heaters for heating village halls or community halls. Longwave radiant cassettes (sometimes called far-infrared heaters) are generally preferred for regularly used halls whereas shortwave quartz halogen heaters are sometimes preferred when a facility is used intermittently.

Longwave radiant cassettes emit no light whatsoever.

Quartz halogen heaters inevitably produce some degree of light output. However BN Thermic’s Magic Lamp halogen heaters have been developed to provide all the output of a conventional halogen heater but with a fraction of the light output and zero glare. We nearly always recommend Magic Lamp heaters for heating a village hall.

How can I control heating in a village hall?

Selecting an appropriate control system is essential for maximum economy and comfort. The approach to control will depend entirely on the heating technology adopted.

Shortwave quartz halogen heaters are often seen as the best method of heating intermittently used village halls because virtually no preheating is required. The most common type of control for quartz halogen heaters is a push button timer such as BN Thermic’s TS-7 timer which should be wall-mounted in a convenient position. The TS-7 has a button on its front face and, when this button is pushed, the heaters will come on for a period of time pre-set inside the timer (perhaps around 1 hour). Once the pre-set time period has elapsed, the heaters will be automatically switched off until the button is pushed again. The heating can be switched off manually by simply pushing and holding the button.

To control longwave radiant cassettes, we usually recommend our RT16 programmable thermostat. This device provides accurate temperature control with 7-day programming and can control a group of longwave radiant cassettes via a suitably rated contactor.

Can I install a silent heating system in a village hall?

Village halls are used for many different activities. Some, such as performances, committee meetings and yoga classes require a quiet, calm environment. In these circumstances, silent operation is vital. Fortunately both our recommended heating technologies (longwave radiant cassettes and quartz halogen heaters) operate silently.

Can heaters be damaged by ball games?

Depending on the type of game being played, the type of ball being used and the age of the participants, this may or may not be a problem.

The infrared heaters we recommend for heating a village hall are mounted at high level meaning that contact with balls is less likely than with a floor mounted heater. The mounting height also means that the ball will be losing velocity as it approaches the heater.

Because shortwave quartz halogen heaters use a quartz tube as the source of heat, they are more susceptible to damage that longwave radiant cassettes. Therefore if the hall is used by adults playing with cricket balls, basket balls, adults’ footballs etc, they are not a good choice unless external guards are installed. Children’s lightweight plastic balls are very unlikely to cause damage.

Longwave radiant cassettes use an aluminium extrusion as a source of heat making them much more resilient. Although we have never encountered a case of damage from ball games, it would probably be possible for an adult to damage a longwave radiant cassette using a cricket ball or adult’s football. However, accidental damage is highly unlikely.