Samsung Climate Solutions has supported a community-led housing project with its air source heat pumps.
Glenvale Park is a new neighbourhood being built in Wellingborough, UK. Supported by funding from Homes England, a range of national developers have been enlisted to deliver the new neighbourhood. Six housebuilders have also been given responsibility to develop an area of the new neighbourhood to create a vibrant and high-quality development that meets the needs of a diverse community, a statement said. One of which is social housing provider Stonewater.
United Living New Homes is delivering the 148 mixed-tenure homes and apartments that feature within Stonewater’s dedicated area. These will comprise of two, three and four bedroom houses, and one and two bedroom flats, worth £23m in total.
The homes needed a source of heating and hot water that would meet residents needs and comply with the amended Part L building regulations that cover the conservation of fuel and power. Samsung Climate Solutions air source heat pumps were selected, specifically the Samsung EHS Monobloc R32 Heat Pumps, both 5kW and 8kW.
Rhys Bevan, environmental sustainability business partner (Development) at Stonewater, said: “Since April of 2021 Stonewater has been committed to ensuring that all new Land and Build schemes were only approved if developed to an off-gas2 standard . Air Source Heat Pumps offer a reliable and cost-effective way for us to manage this transition to off-gas2 as they are easy to integrate into designs and are easy for our customers to operate.
“Additionally, by building to these off-gas2 standards now, we reduce the need for retrofitting off-gas2 systems in the future, meaning the lifetime costs of these homes is reduced by building for the future now.”
Samsung heat pumps form part of a wider picture to achieve Stonewater’s ambitious commitments. As well as air-source heat pumps, the development will also incorporate electric vehicle (EV) charging points at designated plots across the site.
Briggs & Forrester Living was hired to install electrical and plumbing services to the properties, including the heating systems.
Graham Brooks, Briggs & Forrester Living’s housing director, added: “Samsung’s heat pumps stood out during this project because they had a compact and light design which made them quick and easy for installation. This also makes them ideal for built up areas and critical in a project of this scale where time is of the essence.
“This was one of the first projects we have worked on since the amendments to Part L. Working with new technologies does come with nuances. The Samsung team were always quick to respond to our queries and came to the site to offer training and technical support.”
Sunny Vashisht, business development manager at Samsung Climate Solutions, said: “Our heat pumps have been critical to delivering comfortable homes to the new residents at Glenvale Park. While we have designed our heat pumps with both the installer and the end-user in mind, for residents to feel the true benefits, training is vital. This means installations need to be made effectively and residents need to know how to use their heat pump.
“Training continues to be a core priority for us, having recently launched our new training centre in Manchester, which complements our existing facility in Chertsey. These opportunities for installers to learn are critical and it has been great to see that Stonewater, United Living and Briggs & Forrester have recognised this too and invested in ensuring that each person has the resources they need to do the job effectively. So, when residents do move in, they will quickly get used to the new systems in their home and feel comfortable living there.”
Once complete, Stonewater’s homes will form part of the wider development consisting of 3,000 new homes, of which 675 will be affordable housing.