Caroline White Development Manager Yarlington Housing Group

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Caroline WhiteDevelopment ManagerYarlington
Housing Group
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YHG VISION STATEMENT

• To provide homes that people
• want to live in and to be a
• place where people
• want to work

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The Emperors New Clothes or a Brand New Wardrobe ?

• Do we really know what we are looking at?
• Is Renewable Technology a fashion accessory?
• On what basis are we/should we be making
  investment decisions?
• How do we consult with our tenants (and what will
  they accept and use?).
• What do our tenants actually want (and
  understand)?
• What are the real and total costs ?
• What is the ongoing liability?
• Is there a need to educate the supply chain to
  ensure the technology is used and maintained
  effectively.

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Why are we doing this?

• Climate Change Act 2008 - 80 reduction by 2050
  compared to 1990
• 27 of UKs CO2 emissions from housing
• Because the Homes and Communities Agency wont
  give us any money unless we do!
• DCLG Zero Carbon Homes target by 2016
• Fuel Poverty reduction
• Tenants needs

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• Resident Involvement
• Academic principles of Pull as opposed to
  Push i.e. tenants tell us what they want and
  have an involvement and influence
• Residents are involved in-
• Design
• Specification
• Service standards
• Have an Influence on the
• What, how, where and when
• Achieved through
• Project by project consultations
• Resident Housing Forum partnership and specialist
  focus groups.
• Advantage South West

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Important Considerations ?

• What Technology to use
• Planning approvals
• Capital cost (Installation)
• Maintenance, servicing and Life Cycle costs
• Tenants choice?
• Running costs (Fuel costs)
• SAP Rating

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Technologies Used and Where..

• Super Insulated Frame
• Air Source Heat
• Exhaust Air
• MVHR
• Solar thermal
• Ground Source Heat
• Code 3
• Code 4

• Bungalows
• Flats
• Houses
• Rural Exception
• Village
• Town
• Sheltered
• General Needs
• Shared Ownership

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YHG Developments using Exhaust Air Heating

• 2 no. EAHP installations within YHG stock plus 23
  no. being installed as managing RSL
• Variety of property types
• First installation April 2008
• NIBE (Nuheat) only used
• New Build only

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Exhaust Air

• Combined provision of heating water and mains
  pressure domestic hot water
• All services and components contained within one
  unit
• Simply installation, can be positioned in a
  utility, kitchen or cupboard.
• Low sound level
• Maintenance free apart from cleanable filter and
  checking of safety valve on hot water cylinder

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Hardy Court, Crewkerne - CSH level 4
Timber Shutters to GF flat windows to prevent
summer overheating
Air Source Heat Pumps with under floor heating
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However To hit Code 4 (YHGs experience)

• EASP will not hit Code 4 on its own.
• (YHG was a Finalist in the 2008 Inside Housing,
  Sustainable Housing Awards Sustainable smaller
  social housing project of the year (less than 25
  homes))
• Additional technology / equipment required
• Solar Panels
• Secondary hot water tank

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What are the costs?

• Typical installation - 6,000 to 7,000
• (plus underfloor costs supplementary heating)

Typical Running Costs of standard 3 bed end
terraced house. (information from uSwitch) Gas
Heated (British Gas standard duel fuel 19762kWh g
3609kWh e - 750 g 411 e TOTAL- 1,162
(22.35 / week) Electric Heated (British Gas
standard 10423kWh TOTAL- 1,018 (19.58 /
week)

• Typical running costs 20 / week (Prepayment
  meter)
• approx 20 saving if standard tariff used. (3
  adult 1 children)
• Typical running costs 14 / week (Prepayment
  meter)
• approx 25 saving if standard tariff used. (2
  adult 4 children)

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Tenant Experiences

• Automated system very little input required on
  controls
• Difficult to understand the manual (Shouldnt be
  an issue as it is a fit and forget system)
• Filter requires cleaning every 3 months alarm
  will go off if the filter is blocked. (Filter at
  top of the unit)
• Requires significant training to understand how
  it works (costly from a Management viewpoint.)
• Cold spots within house during winter months
  (underfloor issue)

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Installation / Running Experiences

• Size and Weight of unit Its heavy!!
• 205kg empty, 400kg full (of water) approaching
  half a tonne.
• Careful consider of first floor (and above)
  installation
• If using timber frame, extra loading on to the
  frame needs to be designed in,
• Frame enhanced with additional timber beams
  meaning that potential duct routes inhibited.
• How do you get it up there?
• Craned in permission required from timber frame
  manufacturer obtained to lift in whilst frame was
  being built.
• How do you get it out?
• It can be dismantled yet to be attempted!!

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Installation / Running Experiences

• Larger than standard door height. (2095mm plus
  15 40mm feet)
• Knock out panel / access door required if
  installed within cupboard (access to filter)

• Confined space for installation of all of the
  required pipework / ducting requires careful
  designing.

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Installation / Running Experiences

• Additional time required to install additional
  extract ducting
• Boxing in of exposed ductwork (from a GF wet
  room ) at first floor level, back to EAHP unit
• Only has a small compressor with an immersion
  heater backup. Therefore when there is high
  demand, the immersion heater rated at up to 8kW
  will draw on mains peak rate electric.
• Multiple installations may result in power
  provider requiring additional infrastructure
  upgrades.

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YHG Developments using Solar Thermal

• 22 no. solar thermal installations
• Variety of property types
• First installation August 2007
• Variety of manufacturers
• New Build only

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What are the costs?

• Typical installation circa 3,000
• Solar Thermal installations installed in the
  1970s still running Life Expectancy 25 years
• Antifreeze will need changing every few years
• Collectors may require cleaning to maintain
  maximum efficiencies
• Retro-fitting May require new solar cylinder

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What are the benefits?

• The average domestic system reduces CO2 by around
  350 400 kg/year
• Grants obtained from the Low Carbon Building
  Programme
• Acceptable financial option and demed more
  effective compared to other LZCs (e.g. micro wind
  turbines)
• Up to 60 free hot water for tenants.
• Simple for tenants to use

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Results of Resident Questionnaire

• Q1. How easy is the SHW system to use?

• Outcomes
• 75 of residents find the system Simple or Very
  Simple to use
• 25 of residents find the system Difficult to use

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Results of Resident Questionnaire

• Q2. Were you given a demonstration of how to use
  the SHW when moving in?

• Outcomes
• Only 42 were given a demonstration of how to use
  the system when moving into their home
• Most residents hadnt altered the original
  installation settings

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Results of Resident Questionnaire

• Q3. What are the running costs of the SHW system
  compared to your previous home(s)?

• Outcomes
• 70 of residents found the system Cheaper or Much
  Cheaper to run than their previous HW
  installation.
• Previous HW installations included gas boilers
  and immersion heaters

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Summary

• Solar Thermal offers both cost and environmental
  benefits
• The majority of residents find the system simple
  to use
• Long life expectancy and low maintenance
• Effective technology for reducing CO2
• Easy to incorporate on new developments

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Air source heat pumps
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What are the benefits?

• Energy efficient 200/CoP of 2.5-3.5
• Lower carbon emissions - 50 lower than older
  heating systems when replacing standard tariff
  electric, solid fuel or oil.
• Lower running costs than conventional heating
  systems
• Increased efficiency reduced consumption
  lower bills
• Provides 100 of heating hot water demand
• Low maintenance
• Simple installation and use - controlled using a
  central heating controller

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Our experience

• In excess of 30 air source heat pumps fitted
• Tenants feedback good
• - reporting lower running cost and good heat
  output
• - happy to be offered safe, clean whole house
  heating systems
• No complaints regarding operating noise (Decibel
  range from 42 58db, steady air movement noise,
  dependant on model)
• Easy to Install
• Extremely Cost Efficient

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Castle View, South Cadbury - CSH level 4

• 65m deep bore holes GSHP.
• Underfloor heating system
• Running costs similar to gas condensing
  boiler (questionable savings?)
• Low carbon emissions

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Hales Meadow, Mudford, Yeovil
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• Focal point fire place
• No central heating
• 0.15 U Value frame
• SHW
• Lifetime homes
• MVHR
• Low water use taps
• Usual CSH 3 inclusions

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Tenants feedback - All

• Need to insulate first
• Dont see noise of ASHP as a problem
• GSHP garden disruption is a worry
• Concern over size and location of units
• Lifestyle education programme needed for tenants
  who have new technology installed
• Solar thermal a real money saver to them
• Ground and Air source heat pumps Well liked
• Solar Thermal and Air to Air heat pumps Liked
  these less because not whole house solutions
• Exhaust air heat pumps Jury still out
• New build all suitable

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Housing Management feedback

• Cross cutting themes
• Educating customers
• Will temperatures central heating hot water be
  hot enough?
• Energy consumption
• Meeting expectations lifestyles
• Staff need to understand the way the technologies
  work to get the best results for tenants
• More enthusiasm for ASHP GSHP
• Specific issues
• Will units get smaller
• Tariff implications whether ASHP on economy
  7/10
• GSHP
• Positives vandalproof, low maintenance, long
  life, communal opportunity, dries building
• Negatives installation disruptive, systems
  expensive

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Housing Management feedback

• Specific issues
• EAHP
• Positives reduced condensation damp, health
  improvements
• Negatives not suitable for retrofit, big unit ,
  health safety implications,
• Solar Thermal
• Positives easily retrofitted, visible, no user
  tenant intervention,
• Negatives panels need cleaning with working at
  height implications, not whole house solution

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Asset Management feedback

• Have to be doing it
• EAHP not liked
• Solar Thermal and ASHP liked
• GSHP too expensive
• Need to investigate lease/rental/pay as you use
• Power Distribution infrastructure upgrade issues?
• Smart metering option
• Prepayment expensive
• Legionella issues?

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Development feedback

• Development needs to take account of views of
  tenants, asset management and housing management
• Hitting CSH targets
• Hard to quantify volumes of products needed
• Planning constraints
• ASHP
• Positives Cost effective, single solution,
  Simple to install, Low maintenance?
• Issues Effect of electricity in SAP calculations
• GSHP
• Positives more consistent, more efficient, will
  get Code for Sustainable Homes level 4, low
  maintenance?
• Negatives cost, installation cost risk, ground
  loop problems in future

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Development feedback

• EAHP - not so keen
• Maintenance could be a problem?
• Solar
• Positives helps get to CSH3, low maintenance
• Negatives not a single technology solution
• PV
• Required for CSH 6
• How will a Government change affect development
  and CSH?
• Should tenants costs be included within lifecycle
  heating?

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• According to the Energy Saving Trust the
  prospective financial and
• carbon savings from installing an air source heat
  pump could be
• Fuel Displaced Saving/Year CO2
  Saving/Year
• Gas 300 830 Kg
• Electricity 870
  6 Tonnes
• Oil 580
  1.3 Tonnes
• Solid Fuel 280
  5 Tonnes
• All savings are approximate and are based on an
  air source heat pump providing 100 of space
  heating in a detached property.

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Typical Airing Cupboard Layout and Manifold Design
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• Under-floor heating gives a more
• even distribution of heat.
• Eliminates cold spots
• Easier to install
• Less maintenance
• Better suited to renewable technologies as a
  lower water temperature required

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The Emperors New Clothes or a Brand New Wardrobe ?

• Experience is developing we now have a better
  idea of what we are looking for
• Is Renewable Technology a fashion accessory? No
  but code 6 is unaffordable
• On what basis should we be making investment
  decisions? tenant preference, understanding and
  cost.
• How do we consult with our tenants? still a
  challenge.....
• What do our tenants actually want? simple
  technology and cheaper bills.
• What are the real and total costs? still
  evaluating and inconsistent.
• Future maintenance is a potential issue.

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Thank you, any questions?

• Caroline White
• Development Manager
• Yarlington Housing Group
• Lupin Way
• Alvington
• Yeovil
• Somerset
• 01935 404582
• caroline.white_at_yhg.co.uk