Derby Homes turned to Vaillant to deliver an efficient heating system at Rivermead House, as part of an upgrade programme to reduce carbon emissions and lower fuel bills for tenants.

With ageing electric storage heaters in place, they set about finding a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution.

David Pickering, gas supervisor at Derby Homes said: “We were initially keen to investigate the possibility of various heat source options such as running a micro-district heat pump, using energy from the ground or the local river”

“However, these options were ruled out as potential costs were coming in over £13,500 per flat. We needed a solution that could be easily installed, with as little disruption for tenants as possible. We wanted to ensure residents were fully on board with the project.”

The Vaillant team immediately recognised that the balconies of each flat would be an ideal space to house an air source heat pump.

Vaillant regional business manager, Mark Burton, said: “Air-to-water heat pumps are an increasingly popular choice, particularly in properties which are not connected to the gas grid, therefore are using expensive fuels like electricity, oil or LPG for space heating. Heat pumps can be integrated into heating systems with ease, causing minimal disruption to the resident, and eliminate the need for on-site fuel storage.”

“With pressure on budgets, we explained that money could be saved if Derby Homes undertook the system fitting, as opposed to using a contractor, with the support of Vaillant every step of the way”

“Vaillant offered full training on the air source heat pumps and our engineers were on-site at least once a week to give continued assistance and guidance to their in-house team of installers.”

Each flat was installed with its own aroTHERM 5kW air source heat pump, VRC 700 weather compensating system control and a 150-litre slimline hot water cylinder.

Costs were kept to a minimum, with each flat fitted for £6,000 - a 30% saving.

Since the installation, the tenants saw a huge reduction in their fuel bills.

One of the main benefits of air source heat pumps is that they can help safeguard against the fluctuations in oil and LPG prices that leave tenants vulnerable to the ever-rising costs of heating their home.

With the previous storage heating system, average energy consumption of 13068 kwh equated to costs of around £1,250 a year.

The aroTHERM heat pumps ensure bills have been reduced to £730 per annum, providing a typical saving of £520 a year per household.

The installation of renewable heating technology at Rivermead House also means that Derby Homes can take advantage of the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

In order to claim RHI, it had to apply for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), the installation standard for heat pumps.

As this was their first heat pump project, Vaillant offered special assistance with the certification process.

From this, it is projected over the next seven years over £196,000 will be claimed by Derby Homes through RHI.

David concluded: “The completion of this project is a win-win – not only have we helped tenants to reduce their bills and take them out of fuel poverty, we’ve also played our part in reducing harmful carbon emissions.”