New heating technology for historic buildings with aquatherm black
Historic buildings tell stories from centuries past and are an important part of our cultural heritage. Renovating them poses a unique challenge: how can modern living standards be achieved while preserving their historic fabric? The Sleeping Beauty House in Weinsberg, Germany, is an outstanding example of how tradition and modernity can be harmoniously brought together. With the integration of the aquatherm black surface heating system, a listed solution was found that perfectly meets the requirements for future-proof building technology.
The Sleeping Beauty House, located at Kirchstaffel 1 in Weinsberg, is a five-hundred-year-old half-timbered building with an eventful history. It was built in 1528 and has undergone numerous changes and uses over the centuries, including serving as a rectory, town clerk’s office, and artists’ residence. Its name goes back to an old Weinsberg legend, according to which a girl who was compared to Sleeping Beauty lived in the house. The historic building fabric is characterised by ornate half-timbered details and Baroque elements, which make the building an architectural jewel. Particularly noteworthy is the vaulted cellar of the house, which served as a shelter during the Second World War.
Over the decades, the Sleeping Beauty House increasingly fell into disrepair until it was eventually threatened with demolition. A demolition date had even already been set. However, the building’s condition was to be documented beforehand - as requested by the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments. The Weinreich architectural firm in Neckarsulm was commissioned with this documentation and - as luck would have it - employee Thilo Juhnke-Wild was assigned to the project as manager. He immediately fell in love with the old building and acquired it together with his wife. In close coordination with the monument authorities, he developed a comprehensive renovation concept that both preserves the historic character and enables contemporary residential use.
Heating of the property and use of aquatherm black
In the course of the renovation, the focus was on modernising the heating system to increase living comfort and optimise energy consumption. The choice fell on a pellet heating system and - to distribute the heat to the individual rooms - on aquatherm black. The system from aquatherm was integrated into ceilings, walls, and floors as a surface heating system. It was plastered with clay plaster in ceilings and walls, and installed in the floor as underfloor heating in glass-reinforced cement screed.
“During the renovation of the Sleeping Beauty House, it was important to us to find a heating solution that works efficiently, but at the same time protects the historic building fabric. With aquatherm black, we have achieved exactly that,” says client Thilo Juhnke-Wild.
The use of aquatherm black offers numerous advantages, especially in the renovation of historic buildings. The invisible integration of the heating coils ensures that the aesthetic design of the interiors remains unimpaired. Installation was also minimally invasive, meaning as little as possible interfered with the historic substance of the building. By manufacturing the heating elements in various sizes at aquatherm’s headquarters in Attendorn, South Westphalia, it was possible to adapt the system precisely to the specific requirements of the Sleeping Beauty House.
Advantages of aquatherm black
aquatherm black is a versatile surface heating system that can be flexibly integrated into ceilings, walls, and floors, and can also be used for cooling. Its compact register design allows for easy installation in various building constructions, including drywall, plastered ceilings and walls, or suspended coffered ceilings. The surface temperature of the system can be set just a few degrees above or below the desired room temperature, enabling uniform heating or gentle cooling without draughts or the disturbance of dust.
Another advantage of aquatherm black is its compatibility with energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, such as pellet heating systems. This enables more resource-efficient operation than the use of gas or oil heating systems. In addition, the system offers a high degree of design freedom, as it remains invisible after installation and therefore does not entail any restrictions on interior design.
Conclusion
The renovation of the Sleeping Beauty House shows how modern heating technologies such as aquatherm black can contribute to the preservation and modernisation of historic buildings. By combining protection of the building fabric and improved living comfort, aquatherm black represents a forward-looking solution for the renovation of existing buildings.
"Thanks to aquatherm black, we were able to invisibly integrate a modern surface heating system into the ceiling, wall, and floor without changing the historic appearance of the building," explains Thilo Juhnke-Wild.
