A former WW2 pilot and self-confessed ‘gadget man’ has shown the way to a sustainable future with the installation of a hybrid Ecodan Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) to work alongside his existing boiler.
Mr Durward of Newick, Lewes chose the Ecodan to reduce the heating bills for himself and his wife and with the installation of an 8.5kW Ecodan monobloc ASHP and packaged hydrobox they will also qualify for payments from the Renewable Heat Incentive.
Designed specifically with a bivalent function for use in conjunction with conventional boilers, the hydrobox is pre-plumbed and wired for faster installation and also offers simplified SD card commissioning. With the capability of providing two-zone space heating via a modern, simplified graphical controller, the system ensures that the Durward’s are able to completely control their heating.
“Heat Pumps seem to offer a real solution to the problems associated with fossil fuel heating, which is no longer a sustainable way of keeping our homes warm”, explains Mr Durward, who has always had a fascination for self-sufficiency.
He has already sunk a borehole down to 200 feet to supply water to the property and has a photovoltaic system to generate his own electricity.
East Sussex-based Payne’s Heating and Plumbing Services, which is an Accredited Ecodan Installer and renewable specialist, fitted both the heat pump and PV system.
At Mr Durwood’s request, the specialist also incorporated a power diverter, which transfers any excess electricity generated to the immersion heating, giving the couple regular free tanks of piping hot water.
At the same time as installing the Ecodan unit, the Durwoods had an upgrade to a new high efficiency condensing boiler fitted. However, this has had such little use since the introduction of the heat pump that Mr Durward received a call from his utility company, which believed there might be a mistake due to the low energy reading
Mitsubishi Electric has also arranged for a MELCloud Wi-fi control system to be installed so that the heat pump can be monitored and Mr Durward can control his system from either the comfort of his armchair or anywhere else in the world.
“Mr Durward is delighted with the way the system is working and we often use him as a contact for other clients looking at similar works,” explained Dave Crock of Paynes Heating and Plumbing Services.
For further information on the range of hybrid and standalone air source heat pumps, visit www.ecodan.co.uk.
