Interior Fit Out
Decarbonising school hot water without the bespoke price tag
For education estates, the mandate to decarbonise is clear. However, the path to Net Zero is often obstructed by ageing infrastructure, limited plant room space, and the high capital expenditure associated with bespoke engineering.
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n education settings, domestic hot water (DHW) can account for up to 30% of a building’s daily energy consumption. While transitioning to electrical alternatives is a pillar of sustainability, high-temperature water heating remains a challenge. To meet peak demands and strict anti-legionella regimes, schools increasingly are finding themselves trapped between costly, oversized heat pump installations or high- operating-cost direct electric systems.
Adveco’s FUSION TW/TWplus reimagines this transition. It offers a packaged, pre-sized hybrid approach that slashes emissions while bypassing the complexities of bespoke design.
Redefining the Hybrid Approach
FUSION serves as an alternative for new builds and gas-to-electric retrofits. Rather than relying on a single large, expensive heat source, it harnesses a hybrid architecture. By offsetting primary heating with a low-carbon alternative, it reduces grid demand, driving carbon savings superior to both gas and standard direct electric systems.
At the heart of the FUSION TW/TWplus is the integration of an ADV-W series air source heat pump (ASHP) and the ARDENT electric boiler. These units work in tandem with a 750-litre ATST twin-coil cylinder to create a highly efficient indirect water heater. The TWplus incorporates an additional backup immersion for assured operation with no single point of failure.
A common pitfall in education HVAC is the drop-off in efficiency when heat pumps are forced to work at high temperatures. To reach required flow temperatures (+55°C), heat pumps need to work harder, drawing more energy and increasing costs. Adveco developed the ADV-W range to solve this. These monobloc units maintain high seasonal efficiency while delivering a continuous 60°C output. This ensures a consistent pre-heat, allowing the top-up heating to easily reach the +65°C required for legionella protection.
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Furthermore, the use of R32 refrigerant reflects a commitment to safety and the environment. R32’s lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) enabled a compact, single monobloc outdoor form factor, which is lower cost to purchase, install and operate. Supporting the ASHP is the ARDENT electric boiler. Unlike traditional immersion systems prone to limescale, the ARDENT operates in a sealed ‘primary loop’ configuration. Recirculating a finite amount of water through a heat exchanger eliminates scale issues, extending the unit’s lifespan and reducing maintenance callouts.
New enhancements, including a larger primary heating coil within the cylinder, mean even greater power, up to 24 kW, is now available from ARDENT in the same compact 400 and 580 litre form factors. In such an iteration, it is possible to meet instantaneous draw-off demands of up to 225 litres or maintain continuous flow rates of up to 855 litres/hour for more demanding school applications.
The greatest risk in a hybrid system is ‘contention,’ where two sources work against each other. FUSION excels through smart control, which deploys intelligent climate curves, adjusting water temperatures based on external conditions (-20°C to +43°C). This enables the system to maximise the heat pump’s contribution - potentially covering 70% of total heat requirements - before blending in the ARDENT boiler. The system effectively ‘thinks’ for itself, managing stepped power control to reduce start-up current.
With an included GSM module, fault notifications are sent via BMS or text, allowing for remote management.
Tangible Savings and Proven Success
FUSION’s adoption is driven by verified data. Compared to direct electric DHW systems, FUSION delivers an average carbon saving of 36.3%. The figures are even more striking when moving away from gas, delivering an average of 60.8% carbon savings, with some variants reaching 67.86%.
Summer 2026 issue 4184 Adveco solar FUSION
For schools with specific renewable goals, the base TW variant can even deploy solar thermal pre-heat. Adveco’s controls ‘cheat’ the system in favour of solar input, providing an ultra- low-carbon alterative with a minimal rooftop footprint.
Perhaps the most compelling argument is the cost-to-performance ratio. Traditional high-temperature heat pump specifications can be prohibitively expensive; Adveco has demonstrated that a centralised FUSION system can match these specs for a tenth of the cost. By offering 25 pre-sized TW variants, FUSION removes the need for bespoke engineering, providing an off-the-shelf, ready-to-go system that reduces installation downtime.
The industry has taken note. Named Commercial HVAC Product of the Year at both the Heating & Ventilation News Awards, and the 2025 Energy Saving Awards, FUSION has already been embraced by commercial and public sector organisations throughout the UK
The release of the TW and TWplus variants has seen FUSION fast becoming the standard for low-carbon water. What unifies all FUSION adopters is the refusal to choose between sustainability targets and operational budgets, making it a scalable, reliable resolution to one of the most pressing challenges facing today’s school estates.
adveco.co
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