Cirencester heating and plumbing installer Andy Buchan, of AJ Buchan Ltd, has recently won a prestigious Environment 2010 Award from Worcester Bosch for an installation that saw the combination of a Greenstar oil boiler and Worcester's new Greenskies solar water heating product - operating in tandem in the Wiltshire countryside.

The monthly Worcester Bosch award was made following the installation of a completely new heating and hot water system in an 18th century property in Latton, Wiltshire, which will have an impact on the environment - a very positive one.

Over to Andy for a bit of background to the installation: "The house in question was recently purchased after being unoccupied for three years and the new owner was in the process of completely refurbishing the house which, until now, has had no heating. When discussing the options with owners Rodney and Janet Williams, I mentioned the fact that we were an accredited installer of Worcester's Greenskies solar panels as well as more conventional heating systems. As Rodney and Janet were keen to try and use sustainable energy in their home wherever possible and keep the level of emissions down, the combination of a Greenstar Danesmoor 18/25 condensing oil boiler with solar water heating offered a perfect solution for their requirements."

Rodney was impressed by the opportunity offered to him: "I'm delighted to hear that this project has won an award. I'm anticipating that during the summer months, 60% of my hot water will be generated by solar energy, although this will obviously be less during the winter. This will reduce the amount of fuel used keeping my bills down and reducing carbon dioxide emmisions from my property. Although the initial outlay for these panels was higher than installing a boiler alone, I'm quite content on the knowledge that, over the medium/long term, the running costs, and the costs to the environment will be reduced."