An old school in Pencader is undergoing a mammoth green transformation with support from Welsh Government. When complete it will host a training and demonstration centre where an extensive range of green technologies can be seen in operation. The Hen Ysgol centre’s use of green technology is set to make it one of the most eco friendly buildings in the country.

Earlier this year the project attracted the attention of Channel 4’s Restoration Man, with one episode celebrating the £67,500 grant from the Wales Economic Growth Fund that supports five new jobs.

The technologies that have been installed include: underfloor heating, PV roof panels, solar thermal panels, air to air pumps, air to water pumps, low energy lighting, low energy pumps.In addition, there is permeable paving, a green roof, internal and external wall insulation, double and triple glazing, rain water harvesting, a Bio-digestive tank, multi-fuel wood burning fires and stoves, biomass, to include pellet and log gasification units.

All these technologies are linked together with the intelligent buffer tank to provide hot water and central heating on demand at a fraction of the cost of the mainstream fuels.

Hen Ysgol will be the new operations centre for Plumbers, Electricians, Carpenters Ltd (PECs), an SME founded by Jayne and Ian Hall-Edwards who have retrained in the installation of green technologies and diversifying with a focus now firmly on eco-friendly systems.

“The grant support from the Welsh Government was vital in taking our project forward and used towards installing a range of green technologies and also enabled us to take on four apprentices,” said Jayne.