heating & renewable energy
Green from the ground up
Households have seen their bills slashed as a result of adopting sustainable heating solutions. Simon Lomax of Kensa Heating explains how the firm helped to harness funding schemes to deliver a big change at several housing associations.
H
eating issues are a significant cause for concern at this time of year, with landlords and maintenance teams often looking to deliver a quick fix before winter sets in.
However, in an attempt to satisfy green regulations, as well as cut tenant
utility bills, social housing providers are increasingly turning to long-term solutions which can reliably heat their properties for many years to come. Such were the aspirations behind a partnership between energy provider EDF Energy and Kensa Heat Pumps, which delivered energy saving measures to 345 households across six different housing associations. The project consisted of changes to the heating networks through the installations of ground source heat pumps, resulting in £136,000 worth of savings in tenants’ bills. Moreover, carbon emissions were cut by over 35,000 tonnes. To put the numbers in perspective, the installation cut up to 50 per cent of tenant’s bills as well as 65 per cent of carbon emissions.
Funding aid
The partnership helped social landlords Westward Housing, North Devon Homes, Coastline Housing, Trent & Dove Housing, Bromford Housing Group and Flagship Housing to access ECO (Energy Company Obligation) funding to offset the installation costs of replacing inefficient electric heating and oil- fired systems with sustainable and reliable ground source heat pumps. The associations also secured a 20-year budget through the Non Domestic Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI). In total the partnership has enabled £5,661,494 of ECO and RHI payments. Kensa’s micro ground source heat network system architecture, featuring an individual ground source heat pump in each property linked to a shared ground array, satisfies the ECO and RHI district heating definition, enabling unique access to the funding streams. This in turn allows social landlords to recover their installation costs and potentially fund other property improvement measures. This method also removes problematic issues around communal plantrooms and shared bills. “From the outset, EDF Energy had the foresight to realise the potential for
‘micro’ heat networks to deliver ground source heat pump installations at volume, and have worked alongside Kensa to ensure that Government and Ofgem recognised that the design is eligible for ECO funding alongside the Non Domestic RHI,” explains Simon Lomax. Kensa and EDF Energy jointly pioneered the use of Carbon Saving
Communities Obligation (CSCO) and Carbon Emissions Reduction Obligation (CERO) funding for micro ground source heat networks as an eligible ECO measure under ECO2. This ensured the application for ECO funding met with all prevailing Ofgem requirements. The system architecture was recognised for the significant potential for carbon savings where the most inefficient
The Flagship site in Fressingfield
fuels – notably electric or oil – are displaced by ground source heat pumps. Matt Smith, contracts manager at housing provider Flagship Group, added:
“We knew we needed to innovate to solve the problem of fuel poverty. Flagship is taking steps wherever possible to reduce our reliance on oil in favour of sustainable alternatives. After the initial consultation meeting with Kensa, the tenants all voted in favour of the renewable ground source heat pump option.”
“The installation cut up to 50 per cent of tenant’s bills as well as 65 per cent of carbon emissions”
Steve Grocock, director of property services at Trent & Dove Housing
commented: “Until now, many housing providers have struggled to finance the upfront capital costs associated with ground source heat pumps, even though the maintenance costs and tenants’ energy bills are significantly reduced. However, Kensa was able to unlock a combination of funding from the RHI and ECO that made the financial case for the project stack up. Grocock explained Trent & Dove, as a result of the installation, achieved an
outcome “many housing associations dream of” – the association halved its tenant’s energy bills and carbon emissions and added £2.3m of income through the RHI funding to offset the £1.8m investment. “And all of this in just three months,” he concluded.
Adding comfort
Apart from accessing funding, for North Devon Homes the project offered a chance to improve tenant’s living conditions. “It supported us in our aims to improve our customers’ homes and make them more affordable and comfortable to live in,” explains Ben Ashfold, general practice surveyor at North Devon Homes. “The new heating systems are providing a sustainable source of heating that will benefit our customers for years to come. The innovative borehole array has helped access funding and ultimately made this project a possibility.”
The bigger picture
Kensa and the Ground Source Heat Pump Association (GSHPA) have backed plans within the ECO consultation proposing that ground source heat pump installations satisfy the district heating definition, and will continue to be
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM November 2016 | 45
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