CASE STUDY 1 – Wessex Renewable Energy
Wessex Renewable Energy has turned to a combination of air source heat pumps and solar photovoltaics to reduce a couple’s dependency on fossil fuels at their cottage in North Dorset. Wessex provided a full turnkey package at
Lilac Cottage, Charlton, including: removing the existing economy 7 storage heaters; installation of the internal and external heat pump units; hot water cylinder, radiators and all distribution
contractors to get excited about. ‘The Green Deal looks good for us,’ says Steve Harvey. ‘We will do thermal imaging on a building and assess what needs to be done to get the energy performance up to scratch, from double glazing, cavity wall insulation and so on, under the Green Deal before looking at the heating side of things. We will become the manager of the whole process.’ It is likely that, as has recently been announced with FITs, you will not be eligible for funding under the RHI unless the property meets an acceptable energy performance standard. Chris Davis, business development director at Dimplex
Renewables, is keen to point out there is a strong case for air source heat pumps, regardless of what happens in the domestic RHI. ‘We have to be careful that we don’t get sucked into relying on incentives. There is a strong argument for air source heat pumps, particularly where householders are off the gas grid and relying on oil or LPG.
pipework; controls; thermal insulation; electrical modifications; system dosing; commissioning; and customer training. Estimated fuel costs savings from the heat
pump system are £2,030 per year, with a CO2 saving of 7.3 tons per year. The PV modules are achieving expected savings (including feed-in tariff) of £956 per year for 25 years, with a payback period of 11 to 12 years.
You don’t need the incentives for these technologies to stack up.’
Heat pumps are undoubtedly going to be part of a long-term solution to energy policy in the UK
Standards The standards required for installation of heat pumps under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) have just got more prescriptive under the new MIS 3005 standard. With practical guidance on the correct sizing of heat pumps, the right choice of heat emitters and how to achieve adequate heat yield from ground collectors, the new standard seeks to tackle some of the issues which have caused problems for heat pump installations in the past. ‘The new standard is a great piece of work that will help
CASE STUDY 2 – Needles Old Battery
The Isle of Wight’s Needles Old Battery now boasts a 21st-century energy efficiency heating system, following an upgrade by its owner, the National Trust. The LI 16 TE air source heat pump unit from Dimplex provides heating and domestic hot water for the visitor tearoom and National Trust offices at the popular visitor attraction.
The unit replaces an old oil-fired boiler, which was inefficient and expensive to run. The heat pump is located in the old oil storage room, now converted to a plant room and, to keep costs to a minimum, the existing wet heating system was re-piped and used with the new system. For the National Trust, the new heating system presents an ideal opportunity not only to achieve its carbon emissions reduction targets, but also to present today’s low carbon technology to visitors, with a display on how the equipment works. In addition, the system is fitted with visible meters to show the energy savings being made. Paul Rayner, building surveyor for the National Trust, says: ‘The Trust has its own environmental goals, with key performance indicators on reducing energy consumption at its properties. Adding a renewable heating system is a great step forward, allowing us to meet and exceed the requirements. We’d been considering a heat pump for some time, as we wanted a more environmentally considerate solution for the beautiful Needles headland, and a Dimplex heat pump was the natural way forward.’ The National Trust has also recently installed a small solar PV array on the roof above the plant room, which will help power the heat pump, lowering the site’s carbon footprint still further.
make working with heat pumps more accessible to more installers – and that has to be good news for the industry,’ says Davis. ‘We believe the resultant improved efficiencies will be good for the growth of the market, both in terms of inspiring confidence in the technology, and in terms of really delivering the substantial carbon savings of which heat pumps are capable.’ Davis believes electrical contractors are well placed to grow
their business in this area. ‘The electrical side of the business is more used to being heavily regulated than the heating side. There are good opportunities for electrical contractors to work with partners and offer this alongside PV.’ Kelly Butler, director of BEAMA Heat Pump Association,
reports a strong take-up of air source heat pumps commercially, despite the technology’s absence from the RHI so far. ‘If you look at the technology on its own merits, it will save you money. Its popularity is growing because it can help with compliance with energy conservation under Part L of the Building Regulations.’ At the lower end of the scale, there may be capital cost
issues with widespread adoption, and some incentive will be necessary to stimulate take-up. Butler expects the domestic scheme to be very different from the commercial RHI roll- out. ‘My expectation is that it won’t bear any resemblance to what we saw in last February’s consultation. It is more likely to be a one-off payment, paid every year, perhaps metered, perhaps deemed. Heat pumps are undoubtedly going to be part of a long-term solution to energy policy in the UK, but it’s going to be a journey to get them to the mass market when 5,000 gas boilers are installed every day.’ This is no niche market. Butler predicts that one million
heat pumps will have been installed in the UK by 2020, with more than 300,000 a year after that. If you missed the boat with solar PV, don’t make the same mistake twice.
44 ECA Today January 2012
COPYRIGHT NATIONAL TRUST
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