Space Heating a French Chateau in Nantes

Background

Château de Goulaine is a historic French chateau located in the Loire Valley wine region near Nantes. The building itself was classified as a historic monument in 1913 and is primarily used as a historic monument and a museum, as well as being a popular venue for weddings, events, and wine tasting – holding between 20 and 3000 guests.

Château de Goulaine

The castle’s stables are used as an events space, and with a 6.5-metre ceiling height and a 300m² footprint, there’s a lot of space to heat. As part of the castle that dates back to the 17th century, the stables are not well insulated; however, since they host events, they need to be heated quickly.

Yves Lemaitre from Magistère Diffusion, a Herschel Infrared distributor based in France that offers far infrared heating systems, speaks to the chateau’s Technical Director, Christophe de Goulen. The company also carried out the installation in Chateau de Goulen. The video showcases the Pulsars in situ, heating a French chateau, and discusses the installation and why they chose the Herschel Pulsar as their space heating solution.

Please note: the video is French speaking, however it is shown dubbed in English (using YouTube’s dubbing facility).

Solution

Christophe de Goulen explains that there were 3 main factors in deciding upon the 10 Pulsars that were specified and installed in the stable. The first was needing a system that could provide quick, comforting warmth to the staff and guests when the space is required for an event, without having to have the heating on for hours beforehand.

“[It’s] a very large space, that isn’t necessarily well insulated as we are in a part of the castle that dates back to the end of the 17^th Century. The idea was to be able to quickly heat this space and above all give a feeling of comfort.”

The nature of infrared heating systems means that any moisture in the air is also driven away, prolonging the preservation of this historic building. The second factor was to avoid air that is constantly being circulated, as it is an event space that can hold up to 750+ guests, reducing the risk of germs spreading through the air.

“I also wanted to avoid the mixing of air through forced air systems [as] anything that is a microbe or virus spreads much more when the air is circulated.”

Lastly, the third factor was the savings on the energy bill, as it is a huge, uninsulated space, the costs were sky high until looking at an infrared space heating system.

“And then there was also a very important element which was the cost. When we received the first quotes to heat this room, we were looking at completely mind-blowing prices. The proposed solution really allowed us to control the budget and then to bring something that we liked.”

“The savings made are very substantial [and] also allow us to have budgets for the decoration and layout of these spaces.”

heating a French chateau with Herschel Pulsar

As well as this, the Pulsars require zero maintenance once installed, meaning there are no additional costs and the space won’t ever have to be closed for routine work to be carried out on them.

“The fact that in an installation like this no maintenance is necessary and we therefor have permanent availability and no additional costs to come.”

The installation of the futuristic design Pulsars has resulted in a contemporary aspect being added to the 17th Century building, juxtaposing old and new design.

Testimonial

“Very satisfied with this final result.”

[It’s] a very large space, that isn’t necessarily well insulated as we are in a part of the castle that dates back to the end of the 17^th century. The idea was to be able to quickly heat this space and above all give a feeling of comfort. I also wanted to avoid the mixing of air through forced air systems [as] anything that is a microbe or virus spreads much more when the air is circulated. The pulsars perfectly addressed our heating problem. And then there was also a very important element which was the cost. When we received the first quotes to heat this room, we were looking at completely mind-blowing prices. The proposed solution really allowed us to control the budget and then to bring something that we liked. We are in a 17^th Century building, but I’ve found that aesthetically this Pulsar model also brought a plus in terms of decor. The savings made are very substantial [and] also allow us to have budgets for the decoration and layout of these spaces. [We are] very satisfied with this final result. The fact that in an installation like this no maintenance is necessary and we therefor have permanent availability. Everything has been demonstrated by Herschel for almost 15 years regarding the reliability and durability of the product. The advantage of this heating system is that we can turn it on relatively shortly before the arrival of guests for an event. A classic heating system with air circulation is much more complex and would break down much more easily. Here its very simple. In terms of maintenance but also in terms of daily use. The radiant system will also answer the question of a building that may not have been heated for 8 days since the principal is that we will have two receptions per week but we can also have no use for a week. So we don’t heat constantly but we can adjust the thermostat to maintain the temperature and above all control humidity levels. Pulsars installed to heat Stables used as an events space at Château de Goulaine, Loire Valley France.Translated from a French testimonial video by Yves Lemaitre from Magistère Diffusion, a Herschel Infrared distributor based in France. Yves Lemaitre speaks to the chateau’s Technical Director, Christophe de Goulen.