Darwin College at Cambridge University has replaced boilers with a mixture of split and monobloc air source heat pumps to maximise hot water and heating at one of its student accommodation blocks.
The building comprises three floors, nine kitchens, en-suite 24 showering facilities and 54 student rooms with their own basin. According to manufacturer Vaillant which supplied the heat pumps, this put a premium on supplying reliable heat and hot water volumes to meet the needs of a busy living space.
The college’s facility managers worked alongside Vaillant’s System Sales and Design team to develop a specification that would ensure sufficient heating and hot water supply to nine flats across three floors.
A total of nine Vaillant heat pumps were installed, compromising of six monobloc air source heat pumps and three split air source heat pumps.
The use of a mixed specification for the air source heat pumps is quite unconventional but serves a specific purpose, the firm said. The split air source heat pumps, featuring an external unit connected to an internal hydrobloc, were chosen to minimise heat loss during transfer across the three floors of the housing block. Meanwhile, the monobloc units are well-suited for locations where pipework needs to be kept to a minimum.
Gary Reynolds, Projects & Buildings Manager for Darwin College said:
We are delighted with the completed scheme that has seen the transformation of the heating and hot water needs at Gwen Raverat House. As we undertake retrofit upgrading schemes such as this, we are helping to improve the energy performance and impact of the buildings we rely upon and lay the foundations for sustainable, low carbon energy use in the future.”
As the accommodation at Gwen Raverat House was occupied throughout the installation period, great care was taken to ensure minimal disruption to the students living there, Vaillant said. A rolling work programme undertook installation flat by flat, with the affected occupier moved to an alternative living space as the work was carried out, which also saw all radiators resized as required. Vaillant also provided information for each occupant so that they could understand how the heat pumps worked.
The overall system is centrally controlled via nine Vaillant VR92 interfaces that feed back into a central system to maintain an ambient temperature throughout the building and ensure the hot water supply is consistent and reliable all year round.
Steve Cipriano, Commercial Director UK and Ireland: from Vaillant said:
The upgrade to the block housing Darwin College students has been an important retrofit project. Alongside general improvements to the fabric of the building, the university has invested in a proven and sustainable heating and hot water system that helps to further futureproof the building, drive energy efficiency and lower its carbon footprint.
