Trent & Dove Housing - Ground Source Heat Pumps

Trent & Dove Housing are a Midlands-based Registered Provider offering affordable housing for rent and part (shared) ownership across East Staffordshire, South Derbyshire and North West Leicestershire.

Trent & Dove required a partner to deliver ground source heat pumps to 193 of their rural, off-gas properties comprising 1-2 bed bungalows - the majority of which were occupied by elderly/vulnerable residents. The properties, which are located across the Burton-upon-Trent area, were being heated by night storage heaters.

Trent & Dove - an organisation passionate about combating fuel poverty - wanted to replace the heaters with install ground source heat pumps (GSHP), a retrofit heating upgrade that would minimise fuel emissions, keep residents warm, and reduce costs.

J Tomlinson, who have been working with Trent & Dove Housing for over 10 years on various other schemes, were appointed to install the GSHPs across 15 sites.

GSHPs provide an excellent alternative to electric storage heaters in rural, off gas properties. A well designed system provides the lowest running cost of any heating system – because it uses a small amount of electricity to transfer a large amount of naturally occurring heat from the ground.

As J Tomlinson is a MCS accredited installer, Trent & Dove qualified for the Renewable Heat Incentive as a result of the project.

Ground Source Heat Pumps - how they work

• A GSHP system consists of three elements;
• A ground heat exchanger, which collects heat from the ground
• A water-to-water or water-to-air heat pump, which raises the heat collected to a useful temperature and transfers it to the house
• A heat distribution system which provides the heat to the house (e.g. underfloor heating).

The ground heat exchanger loop (the network of pipes pumping the water underground) can be fitted horizontally or vertically. The vertical system was implemented across all fifteen sites this project, with a view to minimising disruption to residents.

J Tomlinson was employed to supply and fit all materials for the heat distribution system, in this case a full wet central heating system.

Prior to commencing works, J Tomlinson visited each individual property to complete a full survey, identifying the specific requirements of each home, which in turn informed the final design of the heating system to be installed.

The “ground source heat network” design sees a ground source heat pump and new radiator-based heating system installed inside each dwelling and connected to a network of communal ground arrays on each site, typically with every pair of bungalows sharing a communal borehole.

The Ground Source Heat Pump system installed within each property’s airing cupboard provides 100% of the heating and domestic hot water requirements.

Resident cost and CO₂ savings

Within three months of the first installation, residents’ energy bills and CO2 emissions were halved, with Trent & Dove reporting an improvement in resident health and wellbeing. A survey undertaken almost four years following installation revealed that the system continues to be highly popular with residents as a result of its ongoing benefits.