 Residents of The Dunes at Perranporth will have heating and hot water supplied by Kensa's Shoebox ground source pumps | A luxury housing development amongst the dunes of Perranporth beach in Cornwall will use ground source technology from Kensa Heat Pumps to provide heating and hot water to the 40 apartments and homes. Acorn Blue is building The Dunes on the site of a derelict hotel, with completion scheduled for June next year. The groundworks stage is now complete for Kensa’s Shoebox ground source heat pumps, which will be sited inside each of the homes to provide 100% of the heating and hot water for two apartment blocks, five coach houses and four beach houses. |
| | Simon Lomax, Kensa Heat Pumps Managing Director, said: “Given its spectacular location alongside one of Cornwall’s premier beaches, we applaud Acorn Blue’s pioneering decision to specify ultra-low carbon heating systems for The Dunes. Investing in ground source heat pump systems will ensure the lucky purchasers benefit not only from the lowest possible running costs but also a technology which is remarkably reliable and durable. Best of all, this renewable installation is entirely unobtrusive so there is no visual intrusion on such a stunning setting.” The ground source heat pump system features communal boreholes dug in the periphery of the site, six metres from the edge of the dunes, to depths up to 130m. In total 3km of borehole pipework has been installed. Natural candidate The communal system, based on Kensa’s micro-ground source heat network design, sees five district arrays consisting of 19 boreholes in total. The network approach qualifies The Dunes for 20 years of income via the Government’s Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). It is expected that the RHI income will more than offset the cost of the system. David Stein, Acorn Blue Pre-Construction Director, said: “Aside from the inherent advantages associated with the adoption of renewable energy in respect of improved SAP rating, lower carbon footprint, RHI payback and generally ‘feeling good’, The Dunes was a natural candidate for ground source heat pumps. There is no natural gas in the area and the geology is known to be highly suited to GSHPs.” The individual Shoebox pump in each property overcomes traditional issues of plant room design and is exempt from the Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations. Unlike traditional district heating schemes it provides complete heating and hot water control to the homeowners, offering individual bills and freedom to switch suppliers. Kensa will work alongside Acorn Blue’s M&E contractor to install the pump units and ensure compliance with the Microgeneration Certification Standards (MCS). Each home is to be fitted with Heatmiser thermostats, which will talk to smart phone controls. Individual heat and electric meters will email daily heat and electric consumption data to Acorn Blue, enabling performance monitoring and compliance with RHI requirements. An infographic and blog documenting the project is available on the Kensa website. |
