Solar roofing panels meet Code and planning requirements

A new addition to Solar Century’s award winning family of solar roofing materials is the C21e slate, which makes sustainable building even easier and better looking. The C21e Slate delivers the same high power output as the award winning tile format, it has a sleek aluminium frame to fit with a range of natural, fibre cement and reconstituted roof slates.The slate product follows demand for a solar roofing material compatible with slate roofs not only in the UK but across Europe, and is already in use on more than a dozen roofs in the UK helping house builders meet planning requirements and the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Since its launch in 2005, C21 solar electric and solar thermal roof tiles have been installed on over a thousand roofs by house builders such as Barratt, Fairview, St James and Croudace. Feedback from initial C21e Slate installation has been positive.

Simon Gerrard, Solarcentury’s residential sales manager, says: “An increasing number of developers are choosing photovoltaics as part of the solution to help them meet The Code for Sustainable Homes at level three and beyond. This is because photovoltaics are easy to specify in SAP, easy to install, have a proven performance in the UK and are comparable in price to other renewable options.”

Solarcentury also has ‘Orbit’, the new solar energy display system for homes with C21 roof tiles. It is the only consumer friendly display on the market to show both energy consumption and production in a clear graphical format.

The simple wall mounted wireless device follows consumer demand for a clear graphical display to encourage energy saving at the same time as demonstrating home energy generation, and is an innovative addition to the Solarcentury product family.

More information: www.solarcentury.com

Heat pump savings for care home

Residents of the newly built Potteries Court Extra Care Housing Scheme in Swinton, near Rotherham, are reaping the benefits of air-source heat pumps from Danfoss Heat Pumps, formerly ECO Heat Pumps.

The ground floor of the resource centre for the 11 bungalows and 24 apartments built by Chevin Housing Association has been fitted with an under-floor heating system, operated by two 10Kw air source heat pumps. This modern communal area is widely used by the elderly residents who live in the Potteries Court development as it houses a restaurant, lounge, meeting room, kitchen and washroom facilities.

The housing association was very keen to meet the Ecohomes standard and knew that heat pumps would increase its sustainability rating as well as reducing the carbon footprint of the development. As a result, Chevin Housing Association achieved a commendable ‘Very Good’ rating.

Heat pumps are becoming hugely popular for both new builds and refurbishments as they greatly reduce energy bills, compared with more traditional forms of heating. As a completely renewable energy source, they benefit from running costs that are typically 75% lower than conventional systems. This means they normally pay for themselves in five to seven years. Grants are also available for charities or public bodies through the low carbon buildings programme (LCBP).

Air source heat pumps are said to be rapidly increasing in popularity as they require no ground works. Potteries Court also makes use of rainwater harvesting techniques. The system collects surface water from the building’s roof and recycles it in order water the communal landscaped areas. Like the heat pumps, this also contributed to Eco-Homes rating points on this development.

Chris Boucher, project manager of Synergy Housing Solutions, part of the Chevin Housing Group, explains: “We were really keen to use renewable energy sources for the communal areas as all residents pay an annual service charge and fitting heat pumps helps to keep energy costs down. Not only that, but from our point of view as a housing association, they are a fantastic way of helping ensure that new developments achieve both our’s and the government’s regulations on sustainable housing.”

Air source heat pumps work by extracting low-grade heat from the outside air, similar to a refrigerator. However, where a fridge in the home expels heat from the inside to keep it cool, a heat pump will use it to provide heat for the home. The air handling unit draws air across the water-anti freeze solution and transfers this energy into the refrigerant. The refrigerant boils and the gases from this are compressed to produce temperatures in excess of 100_C. This energy is then used to heat the hot water, which is then circulated throughout the home.

Heat pumps are the most efficient method of heating a home because every 1kWh of electricity used to drive the heat pump generates around 4kWh of heat energy. This compares to the most efficient condensing boilers that generated 0.9kWh of heat for every 1kWh of electricity. This gives heat pumps a coefficient of performance of around 400 per cent compared to 75-90% for traditional heating systems

More information: www.ecoheatpumps.co.uk