Luxury London Apartments Warm to Renewable Heat with NIBE

A brand new luxury apartment complex in West London has been fitted with a range of air source and exhaust air heat pump systems from NIBE – providing residents with a cost-effective, sustainable and dependable supply of heating, hot water and ventilation.

Located directly opposite Ravenscourt Park on Goldhawk Road, in the desirable Hammersmith area of London, Parkside Place comprises 40 high-spec, one-, two- and three-bed homes. Tasked with ensuring the complex met Code for Sustainable Homes Level Four standards, developer Linden Homes needed to find a reliable solution to efficiently meet the properties’ space heating and hot water needs, while simultaneously supplying sufficient ventilation for the well-insulated, new-build homes. Providing residents with optimum efficiency and a comfortable indoor environment – as well as a system that would be both economical and easy to use – were also key considerations for the project.

Having specified NIBE products for previous developments, Alex Jordan, Technical Manager at Linden Homes, opted for NIBE F470 exhaust air heat pump (EAHP) systems for each of the development’s 23 single-level apartments. The remaining 16 split-level duplexes and one mews house were each fitted with an air source heat pump (ASHP) package system made up of an 8kW NIBE F2040 ASHP and a NIBE VVM320 combined water storage and controls unit.

Alex explains: ‘With a strong focus on sustainability at the heart of the whole development, performance, efficiency and reliability were top priorities for us when it came to choosing the right heating systems for Parkside Place. Not only do the homes boast high levels of airtightness, they are also fitted with water-based underfloor heating throughout – making them ideally suited for heat pumps (which operate at similarly low flow temperatures). NIBE’s F470 EAHPs were just right for the smaller, single-level apartments, particularly as they offer the added benefit of keeping the homes properly ventilated – which is crucial given how well-insulated they are.

‘However, Parkside’s 16 duplexes and mews house are bigger than its standard apartments, and therefore have a higher heat demand, so the output provided by a NIBE F470 EAHP wouldn’t have sufficed. For this reason, we opted for 8kW NIBE F2040 ASHPs instead, as these are the perfect size for slightly larger domestic applications. Conveniently, the duplexes’ terraces provided the necessary outdoor space to accommodate the external ASHP units. We also coupled the ASHPs with compact, all-in-one NIBE VVM 320 hot water storage and control units. All of the NIBE systems are now fully up and running, and are doing a great job of keeping the homes warm and comfortable.’

NIBE F470 EAHPs work by recovering warm stale air from inside of the smaller apartments’ ‘wet rooms’ (e.g. the kitchen and bathroom) and feeding this back to the heat pump via a ducting system. The energy recovered from this air is then re-used to provide efficient heating and hot water, while fresh air is drawn back into the homes for ventilation.

Specified in the larger duplexes and mews house, NIBE’s MCS-accredited F2040 air source heat pumps are designed to meet 100% of properties’ heating power demand. They feature high-end inverter technology for maximum efficiency, reliability and heating output all year round. They are also ideally suited to partner with the NIBE VVM320 – a complete plug-and-play indoor unit featuring a stainless steel hot water cylinder, integrated buffer vessel, climate-controlled automatic shunt valve, self-regulating A-class design circulation pump and backup immersion heater, as well as intuitive, user-friendly controls.

Robin Adderley, sales and marketing director at NIBE, adds: ‘This project perfectly showcases the true versatility of renewable heating technologies. As well as fitting seamlessly with the sleek, luxury look and feel of the Parkside Place apartments, the NIBE exhaust air and air source heat pump systems are delivering consistent, readily available hot water, heating and even ventilation. What’s more, as word of the lasting financial and environmental benefits of heat pumps continues to spread in the UK and demand carries on rising, the fact that these homes already have heating systems fit for the future should add real value to them – making for an even smarter long-term investment.’