Thank you, Peter, for such a detailed answer! I guess it could be made a part of a wiki straight away.
I've started looking at xgrid before I realized that it was discontinued by Apple, still, given our current setup,it seems the fastest thing to implement.
I've also started checking out BOINC - framework that would allow taking the computations outside the lab, to the campus or possibly even to the computers of the volunteers. Do you may be have some experience with it, or the likes of it, as well?