Grant’s Renewable Heating Technologies are the ideal choice for new build homes

Renowned for its forward-thinking approach towards the research and development of innovative heating technologies, Grant continues to lead the way with its highly efficient, reliable heating for new build homes.

Barry Gorman, National Renewable Sales Manager, Grant, outlines how the company continues to focus on sustainability to help achieve decarbonisation and advises that an air to water air source heat pump like the Grant Aerona3 R32 air to water air source heat pump, is the recommended option for homeowners to install when building their new home.

“At Grant our core focus is to provide innovative, reliable and cost-effective heating solutions to help combat the problem of rising energy costs and carbon emissions, in the hope of securing a greener future for generations to come. Although we started developing boilers over 45 years ago, for two decades now, our team has been developing highly efficient sustainable heating technologies like the A+++ Aerona3 R32 air to water air source heat pump and Grant’s supporting technologies.

Delivering discreet, high-quality home heating, the Grant Aerona3 R32 air to water air source heat pump has quickly become a popular choice for new builds, especially where the house design is specifically matched to the heat pump. With an ErP rating of A+++, the heat pump range is available in outputs of 6kW, 10kW, 13kW and 17kW.

The Aerona3 has quickly become the heat pump of choice amongst those working on new build projects due to its cleaner, more environmentally friendly performance, and its ability to lower a home’s overall carbon footprint, which will ultimately help self-builders achieve required NZEB building standards in the Republic of Ireland. If building a new home in Northern Ireland, pre June 2022, we would have advised that homeowners could also consider a highly efficient Grant Vortex condensing oil boiler as their main heat source. However, there has since been revisions made to Part F of the NI Building Regulations which now states that new domestic buildings will achieve a 40% reduction in carbon emissions* therefore, a heat pump is now highly recommended.

Barry continued, “In addition to its ability to be completely renewable, the Grant

Aerona R32 air to water air source heat pump is also extremely popular with self-builders due to its great compatibility with our range of supporting technologies.

These include pre-plumbed and integrated hot water cylinders, and a range of heat emitters - the Grant Uflex underfloor heating system and the Grant Afinia aluminium radiators. A modern and sleek heat emitter, the Grant Afinia aluminium radiator range offers a high efficiency option with excellent conductivity, whereas the Uflex underfloor heating option is our ‘invisible’ heat emitter – often used in bigger, open planned rooms. Both heat emitter choices offer great flexibility for new builds, as they are designed to work with both low and high temperature heating systems and can be easily paired with a Grant Aerona3 R32 air to water air source heat pump.

We pride ourselves on working side by side with those building new homes to ensure the most efficient Grant heating technologies are specified for the individual home’s requirements, resulting in a fully integrated heating system that delivers cost – effective, low – carbon and comfortable results for the homeowner.”

Their design brief centred on their desire to live in a warm home with lots of light and open plan living. “Beyond that, we just asked that they focus on the fundamentals, something we could add to as time went on,” adds Anne.

The plans were granted two months later, but the Jordans had to wait 12 months for the works to start, thanks to the Covid lockdowns. “At that point, we were both working from home so we moved out into rental accommodation during the renovation programme.”

Space invader

They demolished the existing garage to extend into that freed up space. “There was a small bit of reconfiguration in one bedroom, but other than that, the remaining three bedrooms remained unchanged structurally,” says Anne.

We replaced the suspended wooden floors with insulation, underfloor heating pipes and screed. “We initially wanted to install a heat pump as it is a more environmentally friendly heat source, but it was one of the things we pulled out when the costs came back. We do plan to eventually retrofit a heat pump and install solar panels that generate electricity.”

“The advice we got was to get the breathability of the house right, the things that you can’t change retrospectively. And so that was the guiding principle we used when we were looking at how to reduce costs.”

“We applied and got the SEAI grant to add external wall insulation as that was the best way to insulate and it wouldn’t reduce the internal floor space,” says Anne. “We basically had the house wrapped in insulation to make the core of the structure as energy efficient as