Hallam House, Beeswing- Scotland
Hallam House is a new-build housing development in Beeswing, Dumfries, comprising five purpose-built supported-housing properties and a dedicated staff base. The development was supported by joint funding from the Scottish Government’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme and Dumfries & Galloway Council, as well as private finance secured by the housing association, Loreburn Housing. The local authority’s contribution of £25,000 was awarded specifically for energy efficiency measures, with £5,000 available for each of the development’s five one-bedroom homes. A consultation by Scottish efficiency advice organisation The Energy Agency identified a ground source heat pump (GSHP) system as the best solution to meet the space heating needs of residents and staff at Hallam House.
The Solution
Following an initial design by the appointed M&E engineer, local renewables specialist and NIBE VIP Installer CoolHeat was brought on board to specify a full GSHP system. This needed to work in partnership with the homes’ water-based underfloor heating to ensure consistent space heating, and also offer straightforward operation and controls. Stephen Thomson, director at CoolHeat, had extensive experience working with NIBE products, and recommended a 24kW NIBE F1345 GSHP unit to provide space heating for the development: harnessing geothermal heat from boreholes on the site. CoolHeat sited the main NIBE F1345 heat pump unit in a purpose-built plant room at the rear of the development, and used underground pipework to connect it to a heat station, which feeds into the underfloor heating.
Results
The GSHP system is now meeting 100% of Hallam House’s annual space heating demand of 54,283 kWh. Each room has its own thermostat, which works with the GSHP to ensure comfortable temperatures for the permanent residents, and minimal hassle when it comes to programming. Because CoolHeat is part of the NIBE VIP Installer scheme, the system is covered by an extended seven-year warranty. It’s also eligible for ongoing payments under the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, which makes it an even smarter long-term investment for the housing association.
Customer Testimonial
“Loreburn are extremely pleased with the ground source heating system installed at Hallam House. It has proved to be very reliable and has provided our customers with ample heating for the one bedroom bungalows. The system is fully controllable but also easy to operate. Loreburn have previously installed NIBE products in our homes but this was the first communal ground source system installed. The fact that we can claim RHI payments on this as well as provide our customers with a renewable and efficient heating system made this the right choice for our Hallam House development.”
Fiona Pennington, Development Officer at Loreburn Housing
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