By Allen Coggins

At Castello Di Ristonchi you not only find an amazing relaxing retreat that gets you back to nature, amazing staff, history that is written in textbooks and castle owners who have a vision and story that fairy tales are written after.

Rasmus and Stephine met when she was staying in his bed and breakfast in Denmark. They fell in love and started a life together. Rasmus wanted to scale the BNB business, so they found an amazing property to not only serve as a BNB, they found themselves with a destination wedding venue, corporate retreats, farm and an amazing location to raise there their children.

Owning a property of such history is not without its challenges. Stephine was walking to a mechanical room that is located “behind the scenes” and away from guests. As she approached, she noticed the smell of gas when she reached the door of the mechanical room, the gas ignited and Stephine was in an explosion. She has spent over a year in and out of the hospitals on a road to recovery. Rasmus and Stephine always had a vision for the property to have sustainable solutions in all aspects for their business. 0-kilometer food and wine, agricultural farming, safe and efficient mechanical systems to name a few. Just putting the land to work like it was when the Castello was built.

Rasmus and Allen Coggins of Thermasi met through Instagram. Rasmus commented on a “off-grid” post and Allen reached out because he knew the Thermasi heating system characteristics would help Rasmus achieve his goal of safety and sustainability. Thermasi visited Castello Di Ristonchi in September to see what is possible.

Barring new technology, keeping historical charm and guests comfortable can be a challenge in a property that is over 1100 years old. Equipment that is smart and solutions that can feed on one another is one of the many vital keys to achieving the goal of safety and sustainability. The Thermasi system is a SMART and communicate able piece of equipment with a “0 clearance” install option. Third party tested to use up to 41% less electrical energy to produce heat. (U.L. verified A781078) The modularity of the system allows it to be installed in various ways and the Thermasi heating system achieves gas like temperatures without all the gas infrastructure or safety issues gas heating has. Many solutions are needed to heat and cool a property like this. The mechanical systems need to adapt for the time of year, occupancy, and the ancient beams or construction material the Castello was built with cannot be forgotten about. At times we need to heat/cool the guests at other times we want freeze protection or keep humidity/temp levels in line for the ancient wood and antiquity furniture pieces with the capability of room by room control to minimize power usage.

The Thermasi team has put together not only a solution for heating and cooling but a sustainable solution for this historical property.

The Castello was built here for a reason – the beautiful view for miles around helps when watching for an invading army. The geo location and placement of the Castello was built in a manner to sustain life. Rasmus referred to “looking back to the future to see what is possible,” when we talked about ideas for sustainability.

The south-facing terraced hillsides were great for growing crops back in the day. Looking at a newer crop of sorts, “solar panels” will help provide power to the Castello and its neighbors. And, sitting on top of a mountain helps when you want to capture the power of the wind.

Storing these multiple sources of captured energy is one of the Thermasi energy pods that are capable of 10KW- MEGAWATT storage or “utility scale power.” The residential version is being released at the AHR 2020 show in Orlando (booth 8483).

We can provide the right solutions for this Castello; we can provide the right solution for your Castle!

If you have a unique project that requires unique mechanical solutions, the team at Thermasi are interested in hearing from you. Visit us at www.Thermasi.com or call us at 314-602-7454.