ElectriCast, a client of the Omagh Enterprise company, has recently won the Most Innovative Heating Solution 2020 in the UK Enterprise Awards.
Incorporated in 2018, ElectriCast uses the properties of cast iron along with a low-wattage electric input to help reduce any generated carbon footprint.
The company says its radiators produce affordable and clean heat and can be custom coloured, whilst providing comfortable levels of fully controllable heat where it is needed without the need to plumb.
Traditionally, cast iron radiators have been used to heat large spaces, including the likes of chapels, churches, and schools. As high conductors, they give off ample amounts of heat and unlike steel radiators, retain heat for longer once turned off.
ElectriCast radiators aim to maintain the properties of the original traditional radiators but modernise them. Each new radiator from ElectriCast comes with a remote control to provide multiple options for heating and timed programmes.
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Owned and operated by Shane McCrory, the inventor began to develop his own product after working at his father’s business, The Bath Doctor from a young age, and developed the business further.
He began with building and re-enamelling cast iron radiators, and this is where the concept of what would become ElectriCast Radiators came to fruition.
There are two key components to the heater; the heater body, and the heating element and controller. The radiators themselves are thermal fluid filled and, using a low-wattage electrical element, the fluid is heated to the required temperature.
Though the process can take up to a maximum of one hour, the heat is then regulated and maintained by the radiator's thermostat or remote control programme. Once the element is then switched off, the radiator will continue radiating heat out into the room.
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In keeping with guidelines and regulations from across the EU and the wider world, ElectriCast says its products are suitable for both residential and commercial heating.
The majority of its customers to date have been residential though, along with a small number of sports clubs and commercial businesses.
Other such trends within the space heating and heating industries include the global and governmental push for energy efficiency.
Backed by the UK government, there has been a widespread deployment of energy efficiency measures across the country’s buildings' strategies, to meet net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in order to tackle fuel poverty and cut energy bills.
Covid-19 has meant that people are spending more time in their homes, working within their houses, and thus heating them properly has become a necessity for many.
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ElectriCast added that the solution must be focused on heating one or two rooms rather than the whole house, which would rack up an enormous bill.
The firm is now actively working on a more advanced technology to provide hot water to homes through an all-in-one heating and hot water system that is powered completely by electricity.
If it were to be combined with renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, ElectriCast says it could considerably help to reduce the carbon footprint of clients all over the UK.
Visit www.electricast.co.uk for more info.
