introduction
We work with housing associations, local authorities, non governmental organisations and private companies to provide solutions for assessing, installing and commissioning sustainable energy technologies to improve the communal plant rooms of their properties.
challenge
Richardson House is a three storey block containing 6 two
bedroom flats on a site in Tipton owned by Accord Housing
Association. There are two other blocks on the site comprising 60
flats in total. All six flats in Richardson House were heated by a
combination of off-peak storage heaters and on-peak convector fan
heaters leading to expensive heating bills for the tenants.
Accord commissioned us to carry out an Options Appraisal to
assess current energy usage and recommend alternative options for
providing space heating and domestic hot water in the
dwellings. We suggested that this project could act as a trial
scheme, with the learnings used to decide upon the solution which
provided the best benefits to tenants, and which could be
replicated across the other flats on site.
solution
Following the initial feasibility study two different system
set-ups were proposed for Richardson House in order to compare a
communal system with an individual flat solution. An integral part
of the refurbishment work involved the installation of a new highly
insulated flat roof to limit heat loss. The new flat roof would
provide the ideal surface for mounting solar panels on and the
flexibility in terms of orientation to ensure the maximum solar
contribution was received. A reduction in heat loss due to
ventilation was also addressed by specifying heat recovery
ventilation units.
We recommended that three of the flats would have new storage
heaters fitted in conjunction with new hot water cylinders and
individual solar thermal systems to offset the electricity
consumption in providing hot water. The other three flats would
have their space heat and hot water requirements provided
communally by two air source heat pumps and a solar thermal
array.
outcome
As a result of the report that we provided, the following was achieved:
- Our engineers installed and commissioned two air source heat pumps and solar thermal array.
The estimated annual savings calculated by us during the Options Appraisal were in the region of £350-450 with an associated reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of approximately 20 tonnes per annum. Monitoring has been incorporated during the installation work to see how the systems perform as installed and use the results to inform final decisions on an appropriate sustainable energy solution for the other flats on the site.
"Sustain's options appraisal gave Accord the necessary
information to work towards fitting low carbon technology in our
housing stock. The solar and ASHP combination was a first for
Accord, and by looking towards new technology we are able to offer
heating solutions that benefit both our tenants and the
environment."
Mark England, Accord Housing
