www.heatingandventilating.net


INDUSTRY INSIGHT


VR TRANSFORMS WATER HEATING


T


GSHPs INSTALLED IN 700 HOMES


UK. UK manufacturer Kensa Heat Pumps and contractual division Kensa Contracting will fulfil the order worth over £7.5m over the next three years. A diverse array of properties will take part in the heating upgrade scheme,


A


from bedsits to maisonettes, low rise flats, houses and bungalows. It is estimated the investment will reduce lifetime carbon emissions by up to 40 tonnes in the bedsits to 200 tonnes in the three-bed flats; the project will result in massive emissions savings, comparable to a 5MW solar PV farm featuring 20,000 solar panels covering an area of 30 acres. Tenant fuel bills will be reduced by typically 30-50%, annually saving


around £150 per bedsit and up to £500 per house. Patrick Berry, managing director of Together Housing’s energy services,


comments: “This investment is a major commitment to ensuring our homes are affordable and energy efficient. Using renewable heat we can provide our customers with clean, comfortable, low cost energy and lower our carbon impact. It forms a part of Together Housing’s strategy to maximise the potential of renewable heat and power and we are delighted the projects are underway.” The new ground source heat pump infrastructure will consist of a series of


communal boreholes connected to individual heat pumps within each property; Kensa calls this system ‘ambient shared ground loop arrays’. The shared ground loop array infrastructure is deemed a district heating system, qualifying the project to be part-funded via the Energy Company Obligation and receive a 20-year income via the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). Dr Matthew Trewhella, managing director of Kensa Contracting, comments:


“Together Housing’s landmark investment in ground source heat pumps via the Procure Plus framework is a pioneering step by a social housing provider to address the emissions of existing housing stock and fuel poverty levels. Their commitment to innovation, community and the environment is a benchmark for fellow housing associations and new build developers to follow. “Their commitment to renewable heat indicates a market transformation of


the UK’s approach to heating infrastructure. Substantiated by the Government’s Spring Statement announcement of a future homes standard mandating the end of fossil-fuel heating systems in all new houses from 2025, which followed the recent Committee for Climate Change report calling for the end of gas grid connections to new build housing in six years, this is the beginning of the end of inefficient heating infrastructure in the UK, on and off the gas grid.” Political and building regulation pressures have built the case for ground


source heat pump infrastructure in UK housing, and now the climate threat has built the urgency. Claire Perry, minister for Energy and Clean Growth, commented on the


record-breaking energy efficiency programme of works: “I’m delighted to see how many more businesses and organisations, such as Kensa and Together, are seizing this multi-billion pound opportunity to energise their communities to tackle the very serious threat of climate change.”


landmark order by Together Housing to replace night storage heaters with ground source heat pumps in over 700 dwellings across Lancashire and Yorkshire, is the largest single order of its kind in the


he UK’s water heating sector is always looking to uncover the latest disruptive technology that can improve training,


efficiencies and sustainability. This commitment has formed the foundation of sustained success in recent years – and it is key to future-proofing the industry in trying political and economic times. That’s according to Stuart Doggrell, water heating general manager at Fabdec (right) However, it can be a difficult task to assess which technologies are here to stay and which are a flash in the pan. In water heating, a key development that has had a transformative effect on the way products, concepts and systems are understood – and the way specifiers, installers and merchants can be trained via product demonstration – is virtual reality (VR). In partnership with the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineers (CIPHE), a number of manufacturers have now commissioned totally virtual representations of heating and plumbing products that can be accessed on mobile, laptop and tablet devices. These representations provide insights into the product and the technology that powers the product, without the need to physically disassemble and inspect it. This allows the viewer to visualise the inner-workings and composite parts of a complete system. The software can also simulate the effects of the system being run in normal operation in a totally safe environment, demonstrating the product’s optimum performance in different conditions. Conversely, it can be used to demonstrate potential problems without a risk to the operator. As the popularity of VR increases, our goal is to work towards the


introduction of more advanced technology that provides an augmented reality (AR) capability, and we hope the industry follows suit. When completed, this will not only provide a representation of a new system – but also start to dissect it piece-by-piece in real-time – a development that could drive benefits if, for example, a fault diagnosis needs to be carried out. Vast amounts of time could be saved and the maintenance and repair


work could become a more straightforward process. This is particularly useful following the introduction of innovative new


unvented water heaters with internal expansion that incorporate the “Venturi effect”, eliminating the need for an internal floating baffle or an external expansion vessel. Understanding the scientific process behind this method, and the way the


Venturi valve works in normal everyday operation, is key for specifiers and installers. It can also help educate end-users who have specified the water heater for their property, allowing a deeper understanding of the new developments that are powering sustainability in the water heating sector. By offering training packages across a product line, and the opportunity


for installers to build their knowledge of complex new product lines using innovative technology like VR, manufacturers add value to the system they are creating for all parties involved. These benefits not only provide the opportunity to gain a better understanding and knowledge of the systems, but also the potential for higher customer retention through installers. As installers build their knowledge of a product line and the installation


process becomes shorter and simpler, they’re more likely to become repeat customers of the products they’re most familiar with. The training technology also provides the opportunity to demonstrate


how modular additions to water heaters can be integrated into systems, and what capabilities that they can add. The introduction of exciting new technologies like VR also helps to position the sector as forward thinking and dynamic, ensuring it keeps up with other industries as an attractive destination for those leaving school or university. It also creates new opportunities for people with transferable skills who may not have considered the sector previously.


www.heatingandventilating.net July 2019 35


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44