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Power to the people
To date, around 265 properties have benefited from the project’s systems
A shared commitment to low carbon heating resulted in a collaboration between Kensa Contracting and social housing provider, Stonewater, to create a heat pump village
T
he housing sector is responsible for a large portion of carbon emissions in the UK, so if there is any hope of hitting the government’s target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the way in which we heat our homes needs addressing. However, with five million homes in the UK social sector, there is a mammoth task ahead in order to create housing that fits the bill. Stonewater has committed to playing a key role in achieving the national net-zero carbon target and has been exploring how innovative low-carbon heating
technology can help realise this ambition. “With rising energy costs forcing more vulnerable people into fuel poverty, 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.”
“Fuel poverty is a significant problem across the UK”
Breaking the mould In 2017, CIPHE Industrial Associate Supporter, Kensa, partnered with Stonewater to deliver a pilot ground source heat pump project at a site in North Herefordshire, with the aim of providing
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residents with warmer and cheaper home heating systems. The scheme at Burton Gardens, near Weobley Village, involved replacing the night storage heaters in 49 bungalows with Kensa’s Shoebox ground source heat pumps. It features Kensa’s innovative Shared Ground Loop Array system architecture to serve the individual properties. “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,” explains Harris. “Our Burton Gardens residents have seen a significant reduction in their energy bills with their new ground source heat pump system, which enables them to heat their homes at an affordable cost and stay warm during the cold winter months.”
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