Warden-Linked Bungalows - Swynnerton
A Staffordshire housing association has changed the heating system of an entire development of bungalows to Dimplex ground source heat pumps with homes taking part in the UK's first independent research survey into the everyday performance of heat pumps in a domestic environment.
Stafford and Rural Homes, a registered charity, is a social landlord that owns and manages 5,600 homes in the borough of Stafford, a small percentage of which are sheltered accommodation with a warden on site or warden-linked. This heating refurbishment project of warden-linked bungalows in the small village of Swynnerton, Staffordshire, has five of the properties taking part in the yearlong survey by the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to monitor ground and air source heat pumps across the UK in real-life installations.
Colin Roff, Stafford and Rural Homes, says: When we were looking at replacing the heating in these properties fuel poverty was of course a consideration as economic heating is very important to our tenants. We needed to find something that was future-proof and cost-effective with no costly regular maintenance bills or annual inspections visits.
After we decided on heat pumps, three suppliers were considered for this job and key criteria included both costs and quality. The assessment panel, which included three tenants from the homes in Swynnerton, were impressed with Dimplex, as not only could they meet our requirements, but they also provided lots of advice and information from grants to specifications and also came up with ideas like getting involved in the Energy Saving Trust survey.
As a Dimplex installer partner Azure Natrual Energy Systems were commissioned to design and install the ground source heat pump systems together with a borehole ground array to supply each individual property and residents were able to remain in their homes whilst the work was carried out.
Find out more about Azure Systems go to www.azure-systems.co.uk for more case studies on ground source heat pumps go to http://www.azure-systems.co.uk/case-studies/ground-source-heat-pumps/index.html
