Banwell Architects recently completed a high capacity (7MMBTU/HR) automated woodchip fired central heating plant for Grafton County Complex; in addition to a working farm, the complex includes a Courthouse, Prison, Nursing Home and Administration building, totaling over 280,000sf. Biomass heat is distributed by hot water in over 1800’ of pre-insulated subsurface steel pipe and is capable of meeting 90% of these buildings’ heat load using woodchips sourced nearby within this largely rural county. The heating plant building is sited for safe and convenient delivery truck access, includes storage for over two truckloads of woodchip fuel and its form and cladding designed to blend with both the institutional and farm buildings.
