The first system has recently been installed at one of Caerphilly Council's social housing properties in Rudry, South Wales. Like thousands of other rural homes, it is not connected to mains gas and so relied on a part solid fuel system. However when the time came to upgrade, Ideal Heating recognised an opportunity for Caerphilly Council to increase fuel efficiency, reduce running costs, and make life easier for the elderly residents, who at the time were having to lift bags of coal. Rather than replace like for like, Sean Foley, Area Sales Manager from Ideal Heating, suggested that the council consider renewables:
"A significant proportion of the council's social housing is off the grid and these homes present particular challenges when it comes to meeting energy-efficiency targets. There was a real opportunity here to take renewable energy solutions to another level and try something that had never been done before, so I approached Thermal Earth to work with us and together we came up with this unique system".
For the council it was too good an opportunity to miss, as Phil Jones, Senior Housing Officer at Caerphilly Council, explained: "Renewables were the ideal solution for this site as the nearest gas supply is over two miles away - we had looked into extending the pipes, but the costs and environmental impact were significant. We'd also considered LPG and bottled gas, but we wanted to invest in a solution that could do more to meet our energy targets. Ideal suggested renewables and Sean took me to see an installation, which I thought was excellent. Ideal and Thermal Earth then designed this brand new solution just for us and I was very impressed - we couldn't let it slip by!"
Unlike conventional solar thermal installations, which are only able to provide direct hot water, this system allows the solar to make a viable contribution to the heating requirement. It works by replacing the twin coil cylinder with a thermal store, which effectively acts as a heat exchanger. To compensate for times when there is little or no solar gain, an integrated air source heat pump is activated by intelligent controls. In this way, the thermal store maximises the efficiency of both renewable technologies, without the need for a boiler.
The result is on-demand heating and hot water from an almost entirely renewable source. Running costs are kept to a minimum, and the environmental benefits are clear. "What's more," says Phil "the system has the potential to generate a consistent source of income every year from the Renewable Heat Incentive. So eventually, this installation could even pay for itself."
Although this kind of installation was not known to have been implemented in the UK before, the council were not deterred, as Phil explained: "We had complete confidence in Ideal - we give our contractors a choice of which boiler to install, and they really like Ideal's Logic. So far around 500-600 Logic boilers have been installed and they've all performed really well. Our experience with Ideal has been positive, and because Sean and Thermal Earth were so proactive we decided to go for it".
The system was installed by Caerphilly based Geoff Griffiths Plumbing and Heating, who look after over 3,500 properties for Caerphilly Council. Despite having limited hands-on experience with renewables, the company found the system extremely easy to install, as managing director Geoff Griffiths, explained: "We mostly do gas work - this was the first time we'd fitted Ideal's Airtherm and solar thermal. But it's such an outstanding project that we wanted to be involved. Installing the system was very straightforward. The Ideal Airtherm went in really easily and the solar thermal panels were very simple to mount and connect. We had no problems at all and are looking forward to doing the next one!"
As well as being pleased by the ease of installation, Geoff was very impressed with the system's performance: "I tested the hot water and heating as soon as the system was fitted. At this time, the outside temperature was just 4°C. At the tap the system produced 10 litres of water a minute at 51°C, so we turned the blending valve to achieve the required 44°C. The heating also functioned well - a 48°C flow went to the radiators with a return of 42°C," he said.
Caerphilly Council is also delighted with the results, as Phil explained: "The council is very excited to be the first to have this renewable system, and we've been happy with Ideal from start to finish. A further two of the same installations are going ahead on properties in Rudry, and Thermal Earth is currently surveying another two. Renewables are going to play such an important role in future homes - I'm glad that we're one step ahead!"
For more information on this installation, please call 0870 8498056.