Ground source heating solutions
Housing associations currently own and manage around 2.7 million homes across England. They have until 2030 to achieve an EPC C rating by 2030, and become carbon neutral by 2050, the ability of housing associations to retrofit at scale and pace will be put to the test in the coming years.
Heat the Streets and Kensa’s split-ownership model allowed pioneering housing associations to start developing the means with which to achieve these goals.
What this means for tenants.
Through Heat the Streets, social housing providers were able to remove inefficient electric storage heaters and fossil fuel boilers, replacing them with ground source heat pumps connected to a shared ground loop.
We understood that some of these properties may be home to older and vulnerable residents and planned for high levels of customer liaison, ensuring that all affected residents and housing officers fully understand why we are doing this and how it will benefit them.
Residents were assured that any ground disturbed during the installation and drilling processes will be fully restored on completion of the project.
Following the project social housing providers will be confident that they are providing optimum comfort and low running costs for residents.
Now completed the infrastructure has been designed to allow for further properties to be connected to the ground array.
The social housing providers are not responsible for the infrastructure (this is maintained by Kensa Utilities) and further more, they are able to sell properties and pass on service agreement.
What can social housing tenants expect from ground source heating?
Tenants with homes connected to the shared ground array can expect multiple benefits compared with their existing heating system.