Stonewater Housing, Weobley

Ground Source Review: Stonewater Housing, Weobley

The Burton Gardens Kensa ground source heat pump retrofit project is the first undertaken by Stonewater Housing, and involved the retrofit of heat pumps to 49 sheltered bungalows with the aim of providing residents with a warmer and cheaper home heating system that will save them hundreds of pounds annually on their energy bills.

The scheme featured Kensa’s innovative system architecture consisting of an ambient temperature ground loop shared between pairs of bungalows, comprising a borehole drilled to a depth of circa 150m, which splits via a manifold to serve the individual properties.

Each property contains an individual Kensa Shoebox ground source heat pump, meaning all heating and hot water is delivered and more importantly billed at the point of use. This removes the need for individual metering and the administration and management cost of managing a traditional district heating scheme. This also allows the resident to shop around for the cheapest electricity bill to ensure running costs for the system are minimised.

Stonewater’s ground source heat pump upgrade in Burton Gardens is costing the housing organisation £700,000 to install. The scheme, which is being subsidised by an upfront ECO grant of £95,000, has an expected payback of 16 years with Stonewater receiving an additional £800,000 income over 20 years from the Government’s non-domestic RHI scheme (this scheme has now closed – please visit this page to explore other funding).

Additionally, Stonewater will benefit from significant lifetime cost savings and tenants will benefit from improved health; with homes now fully heated, building repair costs and health risks associated with condensation and mold will be significantly reduced.

Nick Harris, Stonewater’s Chief Executive, says:

With rising energy costs forcing more vulnerable people into fuel poverty as we approach winter this year, there is a real need for social landlords and housing providers to help tackle the problem which affects thousands of people across the UK. Effective measures such as replacing night storage heaters with more efficient, affordable and carbon-friendly home-heating technologies, can make a big difference to people’s lives, particularly their health and well-being.

An average two-bedroom bungalow typically costs £800 a year to heat with night storage heaters, compared with £390 from a ground source heat pump which is less than half the cost. Our Burton Gardens residents will see a significant reduction in their energy bills with their new ground source heat pump system, which will enable them to heat their homes at an affordable cost and stay warm and comfortable during the cold winter months.

READ THE FULL CASE STUDY AT KENSACONTRACTING.COM

Stonewater Housing Weobley District Ground Source Heat Pump Retrofit Social Housing Project

Stonewater Housing Weobley District Ground Source Heat Pump Retrofit Social Housing Project: Burton Gardens

Stonewater Housing Weobley District Ground Source Heat Pump Retrofit Social Housing Project Tenant Liaison

Stonewater Housing Weobley District Ground Source Heat Pump Retrofit Social Housing Project Borehole drilling

Stonewater Housing Weobley District Ground Source Heat Pump Retrofit Social Housing Project Borehole drill rig

Stonewater Housing Weobley District Ground Source Heat Pump Retrofit Social Housing Project Borehole drilling timelapse