Kensa Ground Source Heat Pump Review: Social Housing - Enfield Tower Blocks

The UK’s pioneer of domestic district ground source heat pump systems, Kensa Contracting, has secured the contract to deliver England’s largest shared ground loop array heat pump system with ENGIE.

400 flats over eight tower blocks in the London borough of Enfield will be retrofitted with Shoebox heat pumps manufactured by Kensa Contracting’s sister company Kensa Heat Pumps, and connected to the largest collection of ‘district’ arrays of its kind.

Planned for completion in October 2018, the heating upgrade will result in residents’ energy bills reducing by 30-50%.

Dr. Matthew Trewhella, Kensa’s Contracting Director comments:

This project is an excellent example of how district heating can be rolled out using the shared ground loop system architecture.

One of the great strengths of this system type is its flexibility and scalability. Shared ground loop systems can be featured in developments of just two properties (micro-district) whilst this project clearly demonstrates how the concept can be scaled up to much larger systems.

Not only do ground source heat pumps provide the lowest cost heat, they also deliver substantial carbon savings, and landlords benefit from the exceptionally low servicing and maintenance costs.

The Shared Ground Loop Array at Enfield will feature 16 shared ground loop systems serving the eight tower blocks. Each system will typically consist of clusters of eight boreholes serving individual heat pumps installed within the flats of half a tower block.

This system architecture allows each resident to select their own preferred energy supplier to access the best available electricity tariff. The shared nature of the ground array design also reduces drilling costs – typically the most cost-prohibitive aspect of a ground source heat pump installation – and ensures funding through the Energy Company Obligations (ECO) Scheme as well as the Government’s Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI: this scheme has now closed – please visit this page to explore other funding), securing Enfield Council quarterly payments for 20 years.

With typically two thirds of the heating sourced from the ground, the borehole installations will provide an infrastructure which will deliver an affordable heat and hot water solution for the Enfield tower blocks for generations.

Drilling of the boreholes has already commenced with one site’s groundworks completed in time for the new year.

Kensa Heat Pumps will be sharing project progress updates on their blog https://www.kensaheatpumps.com/knowledge-hub/.

Share Button

Related Content

News: Kensa Launches ‘How To’ Guide To Heat Pumps In Tower Blocks

A new animation produced by Kensa Heat Pumps aims to educate the owners and developers of the tens of thousands of high rise flats in the UK to the solution posed by retrofitting district ground source heat pumps.


Videos: Shared Ground Loop Array Ground Source Heat Pumps In Tower Blocks

This Kensa Contracting commissioned motion graphic depicts the key stages for the installation of Kensa Shoebox ground source heat pumps into individual flats in tower blocks, connected to shared ground loop array boreholes. For more information on this application click here. *Please note: the Non-Domestic RHI funding stream mentioned in this video has now expired….


Videos: Ground Source Heat Pump Tower Block – Groundworks Stage

This video shows the initial works for a retrofit Kensa Contracting ground source heat pump installation at eight tower blocks in the London borough of Enfield with ENGIE. Follow the project at www.kensaheatpumps.com/enfield


Videos: Tower Block Borehole Timelapse (Enfield) – Phase 1

Kensa Contracting & ENGIE retrofitting Kensa Shoebox ground source heat pumps into eight tower blocks in the London borough of Enfield. This timelapse video shows the borehole drilling for one of the eight tower blocks, which will form part of the decentralised heat pump system (an individual Kensa ground source heat pump in each flat)…


Videos: Ground Source Heat Pump Timelapse In Tower Blocks – Phase 2

Kensa Contracting and ENGIE retrofitting Kensa Shoebox ground source heat pumps into eight tower blocks in the London borough of Enfield. This timelapse video shows the borehole drilling for a second tower block, which will form part of the decentralised heat pump system (an individual Kensa ground source heat pump in each flat) fed by…


Videos: From Space – England’s Largest District Ground Source Heat Pump System

England’s largest district ground source heat pump scheme is visible from space! See two of the eight tower blocks that have been retrofitted with Kensa Shoebox heat pumps connected to shared ground loop arrays by Kensa Contracting. Google Earth has captured the moment the borehole ground arrays had been installed with the ground recovery in progress,…