Housing association
residents in a development of 49 one- and two-bedroom bungalows in
Herefordshire are set to have their heating bills halved as work begins on the
installation of an innovative communal ground source heating system.
Burton Gardens is
situated just a short walk from the centre of the picturesque rural village of
Weobley, part of the famous 'Black and White Village Trail'.
The Burton Gardens
ground source heat pump retrofit scheme is being piloted by leading social
housing provider Stonewater with the aim of providing residents with a warmer
and cheaper home heating system that will save them hundreds of pounds annually
on their energy bills.
Stonewater is
working with British-manufacturer Kensa Heat Pumps on the pilot retrofit scheme
which is due for completion in December this year. The Kensa Shoebox ground
source heat pumps will replace residents’ expensive electric night storage
heaters and immersion hot water heating systems.
“With rising energy
costs forcing more vulnerable people into fuel poverty as we approach winter
this year, there is a real need for social landlords and housing providers to
help tackle the problem which affects thousands of people across the UK,” says Nick
Harris, Stonewater’s Chief Executive. “Effective measures such as replacing
night storage heaters with more efficient, affordable and carbon-friendly
home-heating technologies, can make a big difference to people’s lives,
particularly their health and wellbeing.
“An average
two-bedroom bungalow typically costs £800 a year to heat with night storage
heaters, compared with £390 from a ground source heat pump which is less than
half the cost. Our Burton Gardens residents will see a significant reduction in
their energy bills with their new ground source heat pump system, which will
enable them to heat their homes at an affordable cost and stay warm and
comfortable during the cold winter months.”
The scheme’s
communal ‘micro district’ design – where a Kensa Shoebox heat pump installed
inside each bungalow is connected to one of 25 communal boreholes - ensures
eligibility for Energy Company Obligation (ECO) funding provided by Kensa’s
unique partnership with EDF Energy, along with twenty years of income through
the Non Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).
The micro district
design also avoids the need for a plant room, and provides complete heating
independence to the tenants who are free to switch energy providers. Each
resident will also receive a new hot water cylinder and radiators in place of
the old night storage units.
Stonewater’s ground
source heat pump upgrade in Burton Gardens is costing the housing organisation
£700,000 to install. The scheme, which is being subsidised by an upfront ECO
grant of £95,000, has an expected payback of 16 years with Stonewater receiving
an additional £800,0000 income over 20 years from the Government’s non-domestic
RHI scheme.
David Broom, Kensa
Heat Pumps’ Technical Sales Manager comments: “For every ground source heat
pump installed at Burton Gardens we are taking the equivalent carbon emissions
from two cars off the road. Add to this energy security and affordability
becoming an increasingly important issue, it is vital to work with
forward-thinking housing providers like Stonewater, to improve the condition of
the UK’s housing stock.
"Through the borehole installations we are providing an
infrastructure which will deliver 75% of the heat required for these
properties, for free, for the next 100 years. The homes will be warmer and more
comfortable for residents as the cost of heating is significantly reduced, plus
they are also protected from future cost increases as the majority of the
energy required comes from underneath their garden.”
