Established in 2012, The Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank has played a vital role in the community over the past 10 years. With 14 distribution centres and 15 sessions per week, the volunteer-run organisation, supported by local churches and the people of the city, donated almost 900,000kg of food between March 2012 and March 2021.
The charity recently faced a significant dilemma when the old boiler, which fuelled its premises, had seen an increase in fuel consumption over recent years, putting a strain on the running costs of the organisation.
Gary Davies, national sales manager from Firebird explained: “It was clear that the existing 70 cast iron standard efficiency boiler installed was not performing to optimum efficiency and needed to be replaced. Not only did they need a replacement urgently, but they were very keen to ensure that the new boiler would be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.”
With a clear focus on renewables and sustainability, Firebird has dedicated significant resources and invested heavily in developing products with increased fuel efficiency, reduced emissions and products that use more renewable and sustainable fuel sources. Its boilers boast 97.5% efficiency and NOx emissions as low as 60mg/kWhr, half the EU limits.
The Foodbank Stoke-on-Trent reached out to Firebird because of its expertise and reputation in the renewable sector.
Corrine Boden, MBE at the Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank, commented: “We went to Firebird because of its reputation for reliability and the very best customer service and products. It’s a big investment for us so we needed to make sure we were working with a provider that wouldn’t let us down, as well as giving us a heating solution that would actually save us money”
“The clear choice was to upgrade the old boiler to a high efficiency Firebird Envirogreen boiler with low emissions,” continued Gary.
Long-standing Firebird installer, Nick Slater of Nick Slater Plumbing and Heating, provided his expertise and was eager to contribute to the project. Firebird worked with Nick to identify the best appliance in terms of size and suitability.
“We supplied a boiler from our new Low NOx Envirogreen range which is incredibly popular with installers and has NOx emission levels lower than any other boiler on the market,” said Gary. “With outputs of 100kW, the boiler is also future proofed for HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil). This will enable The Foodbank in its environmental goals, which was a key objective from the outset.”
The upgraded boiler has now been installed for three months and The Foodbank has seen a massive reduction in their fuel consumption. Corrine Boden added: “Our fuel usage has now almost halved, and this additional saving can go directly to supporting those most in need in our community. As well as being kinder to the environment, we are saving so much in fuel costs.”
www.firebird.uk.com
