London flats, built in 1913, transition to heat pumps

Heat pumps have to fight against a tide of cynicism but Kensa have gone some way towards putting one myth to bed by installing a ground source heat pump system in an Edwardian-era building in the centre of London.

‘Old buildings aren’t suitable for heat pumps’ we are told but this installation has seen 81 flats fitted with a heat pump system designed to look and feel similar to gas.

The flats are spread across four blocks of The Sutton Dwellings estate, which was built in 1913 and are the oldest blocks of social housing flats to be heated using a networked heat pump solution to date.

The project is part of a regeneration of the estate by housing provider Clarion Housing, which began in 2019. In this phase, each new, modern social home has received highly energy-efficient heating and hot water via its own compact ground source heat pump, that will keep energy bills low for residents while producing zero carbon emissions at the point of use.

The heat pumps are small enough to be housed inside a cupboard in each flat, sourcing their renewable heat energy from the ground through 27 boreholes drilled beneath the estate. The installation has had no impact on the exterior of the property. 

When it was built, residents of the building heated their flats with coal fireplaces, before transitioning to gas, and now renewable energy.

Kensa describe it as ‘an example of how history and modern solutions can work seamlessly in tandem, offering a pathway to retrofit the UK’s other ‘complex to decarbonise’ buildings and homes currently heated using fossil fuels.’

Stuart Gadsden, Commercial Director at Kensa, said: ‘Often you see claims heat pumps don’t work, they aren’t suitable for older buildings, there isn’t enough space to install ground source heat pumps in cities. This project is proof you can do all these and more!

‘This was an ambitious project, but at Kensa, we’re always searching for the next innovation, the next solution that can improve people’s lives and be the answer to decarbonising heat in the millions of UK buildings that need it. Hopefully, this project can serve as a blueprint for other social housing providers with properties that need decarbonising.

‘While this can be seen as a great myth-busting project for renewable heating, particularly ground source heat pumps, the most important outcome will be the benefits felt by residents. With our systems they will be getting low cost, low carbon heating and hot water, allowing them to keep their whole homes warm.’