A housing development comprising forty apartments and houses currently under construction amongst the famous dunes of Perranporth beach in Cornwall is using pioneering architecture and sustainable development to breathe new life into a former derelict hotel site.
‘The Dunes’, set for completion in June 2018 by developers Acorn Blue, has completed the groundworks stage for Kensa’s Shoebox ground source heat pumps, which will be sited inside each of the dwellings to provide 100% of the two apartment blocks, five coach houses and four beach houses heating and hot water.
Simon Lomax, Kensa Heat Pumps managing director, comments: “Given its spectacular location alongside one of Cornwall’s premier beaches, we applaud Acorn Blue’s pioneering decision to specify ultra-low carbon heating systems for ‘The Dunes’. Investing in ground source heat pump systems will ensure the lucky purchasers benefit not only from the lowest possible running costs but also a technology which is remarkably reliable and durable. Best of all, this renewable installation is entirely unobtrusive so there is no visual intrusion on such a stunning setting.”
The ground source heat pump system features communal boreholes dug in the periphery of the site, six metres from the edge of the dunes, to depths up to 130m; in total 3km of borehole pipework has been installed.
The communal system, based on Kensa’s micro-ground source heat network design, sees five district arrays consisting of 19 boreholes in total; on one array 17 individual apartments will be provided heat to their own individual Kensa Shoebox heat pump from one double-probe borehole.
The micro-ground source heat network approach qualifies ‘The Dunes’ project for 20 years of income via the Government’s Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). It is expected that the RHI income for The Dunes will more than offset the cost of the system.
