A ground source heat pump system at 12 Flagship Group homes in Suffolk will help lower energy bills, reduce carbon emissions, and provide a better quality heating system and living conditions for their residents. It is also estimated the sustainable system, due to be completed in October at Airey Close in Sudbury, will save each household just under £500 per year.

Featuring individual Kensa Shoebox heat pumps in each house connected to clusters of shared ground loop arrays, the scheme qualifies for the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), generating a guaranteed income to allow Flagship to roll out the much-improved heating system into more homes in the future.

Charlie Conley, Head of Asset Management at Flagship said:

“We are committed to continually improve our renewable energy sources to help tackle fuel poverty. After the successes of our pilot ground source heat pump scheme in Fressingfield, Suffolk, we identified this as a suitable site for our second project of this kind.

“This system will create a number of benefits for Flagship and our customers as it will replace the current electric economy 7 storage heaters, which are ineffective and expensive to run.”

Project managed by Kensa Contracting, the retrofit scheme features British-made ground source heat pumps from Kensa Heat Pumps, fitted by local company Gasway Services.

Dr. Stuart Gadsden, Technical Sales Manager at Kensa Contracting said:

“We are delighted to be working with Flagship again on another innovative ground source heat pump project. At Airey Close, we are installing 12 boreholes to a combined depth of over 1300 metres. These boreholes are connected to an individual Kensa ground source heat pump, manufactured in our factory in Truro in Cornwall, located in each house. This system will provide low-cost heating and hot water to the residents of Airey Close for many years to come.

“Kensa is committed to building long-term relationships with our customers and helping to transform the way in which we heat our houses in the UK. We look forward to working with Flagship on many more projects in the years ahead.”

Other key benefits of the project include:

• Reduction in energy bills and therefore fuel poverty;
• Carbon saving;
• Encourages customers to heat their homes, positively impacting on their health – reduction in damp and improved air quality;
• Low maintenance requirements – cost and frequency.

The site has gained international interest, attracting a visit by a delegation from Indonesia hosted by the Department for International Trade (DIT).

The Indonesian market have shown interest due to the possibility of reversing the heat flow in Kensa’s Shared Ground Loop Array design; the low-temperature from the ground can be used to provide free passive cooling to buildings, or for substantial cooling demands heat can be absorbed from buildings and discharged into the ground, therefore providing a low-cost and low-carbon means to cool as well as heat.