Why Radiant Heating Works So Well in Sports Halls
A look at our upgrade at Bedford Girls’ School
Sports halls are one of the hardest spaces to heat efficiently. High ceilings, large volumes of air, and intermittent use all make traditional warm air systems inefficient and inconsistent.
That’s exactly the challenge we recently tackled at Bedford Girls’ School, where we were brought in to upgrade an outdated heating system that was no longer performing as it should.
The challenge with sports hall heating
In large open spaces like sports halls, heat naturally rises. That means traditional systems often end up warming the ceiling instead of the people using the space - quite the issue for a school to have.
At Bedford Girls’ School, this led to:
Cold spots at floor level
High energy usage with poor efficiency
Increasing maintenance issues
Inconsistent comfort during PE and sports activities
With a hall measuring approximately 33m x 18m, the inefficiency was becoming a real operational issue for the school.
Why radiant heating is a better approach
Instead of heating the air, radiant systems work by directly warming people and surfaces in the space. This makes them particularly effective in large-volume buildings like sports halls.
For this project, we worked with reliable manufacturer Powrmatic to design and install a continuous radiant tube system tailored specifically to the building layout.
The result is a system that delivers heat where it’s actually needed — at floor level — rather than wasting energy heating unused air above.
A familiar site made for a smoother project
One of the advantages of this job was our existing relationship with the school.
Because we’ve worked at Bedford Girls’ School for several years, we already understood:
The building layout
Access constraints
Usage patterns of the sports hall
Previous system performance issues
That knowledge allowed us to move quickly from design to installation with minimal disruption and a very controlled programme, completing the works ahead of the school reopening.
What we installed
The upgrade included:
Removal of the existing inefficient heating system
Installation of a continuous radiant tube system
Two 35kW and two 29kW SRP continuous PCV burner units
Redesigned flue arrangement
Upgraded control systems for easier operation
Protective ball guards for sports use
The layout was carefully designed to ensure even heat distribution across the full 594m² floor area.
The outcome
The difference in performance has been immediate.
The sports hall now:
Warms up much faster
Maintains a consistent temperature during use
Eliminates hot and cold zones
Improves overall usability of the space
Operates more efficiently than the previous system
For the school, this means a more comfortable environment for students and a more reliable, cost-effective system long term.
Full case study
If you want a more technical breakdown of the project, you can read the full case study here:
https://www.vortexengineering.co.uk/case-studies/sports-hall-heating-upgrade-bedford-girls-school
