Dial Hill Road

The Project

Build in the last few years, this stunning architectural home was constructed using a high quality timber frame with most energy efficiency methods built in. Due to budge constraints at the time the home was fitted with a gas boiler and cylinder, but was originally designed to use a heat pump for heating and hot water.

This 220m2 home was fitted with underfloor heating throughout, MVHR as well as a solar PV and Tesla Powerwall. With the introduction of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme it seemed like a great opportunity for the homeowner to switch to a heat pump.

The Solution

With such high insulation values in this timber frame home, despite the size of the property the heat loss resulted in a 7kW heat pump being selected. The Vaillant Arotherm Plus 7kW heat pump was ideal, with the correct capacity, low sound and flexible controls we could integrate it into the existing system, enhancing the functions and making the system more efficient.

For the hot water we installed a Mixergy smart cylinder, allowing the customer to take advantage of its efficiency and flexibility by increasing the hot water volume when guests stay and decreasing when the requirement in hot water drops. We also specified a 50 litre buffer to allow a volume of water for the heat pump defrost cycle and integrate this into the Vaillant’s control system with a separate pump and temperature probe for the buffer itself.

The Installation

The installation was completed over the course of a week, during which time we minimised the heating and hot water downtime to ensure the customer was comfortable throughout the install. The heat pump was cited on a purposed built with dedicated drainage for the condensate water, the pipework then connected to the location of the now replaced boiler in the garage along with the new Vaillant controls including the Sensocomfort and VR71 wiring centre.

The cylinder was installed in an upstairs airing cupboard allowing for efficient distribution of hot water. The system was commissioned and handed over, with the customer able to monitor the system through both the Vaillant SensoApp and the Mixergy App.

The Results

The customer saved £5,000 on the installation thanks to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (pre increase to £7,500) and now benefits from one of the most efficient heat pumps on the market. Most importantly they have been able to disconnect from the gas grid completely.