How Thermino heat batteries cut energy bills and carbon emissions in social housing retrofit

Thermino heat batteries are a space-saving, energy efficient alternative to hot water cylinders.

Their compact size, minimal maintenance requirements and compatibility with a range of energy sources makes Thermino a great option to decarbonise hot water in your projects.

Thurrock Council replaced old storage heaters with networked ground source heat pumps and Thermino heat batteries in three high-rise tower blocks.

The new systems have been transformational for Thurrock residents, cutting energy bills by an estimated 67% and reducing carbon emissions by 70%.

The challenge: Finding a low-cost, low-carbon solution

When looking to replace old storage heaters in 273 social housing flats, Thurrock Council needed an alternative which would be cheaper for tenants to run. Many of the low-income residents were struggling to cover high energy bills, with some paying over £3,000 a year for heating and hot water.

Any new system also needed to be compact, to fit into the space-constrained flats. Ease of use and disruption to tenants during installation were also important considerations.

The solution: Thermino heat batteries with Shoebox heat pumps

The solution was to replace the storage heaters with a series of networked ground source heat pumps and Thermino heat batteries.

The system uses boreholes in the car park to take ambient heat from the ground. This is transported through the tower blocks to a compact Kensa Shoebox heat pump in each flat, which heats the radiators. Mains-pressure hot water is provided by a space-saving Thermino heat battery.

The project secured £2.3m of funding from Wave 1 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, making it the largest ground source heat pump project to receive funding.

The benefits: Lower bills, high performance hot water

One Thurrock resident, Diane, was pleased to report that she’s now spending £21 a week on heating and hot water, down from £75 previously. She also finds the new system more reliable and easier to manage.

Diane said, “The hot water is so fast compared to what we had before. You’d run a bath, wash up a couple of times, and you’d have no hot water, but now we’ve got it constantly. It’s so cheap to run, and with us not getting a lot of money a week, it’s really helping.”

Ieman Barmaki, Sustainability Director at Kensa Contracting said, “Some of the residents were unable to have a shower before installing the heat pump system. With a mix of the Shoebox heat pump and the Sunamp heat battery, for the first time, they’re able to get adequate hot water.”

Thermino heat batteries solve a pressing problem facing specifiers and social landlords looking to install heat pumps – finding space for the accompanying thermal storage for hot water. As Thermino heat batteries are up to 4x smaller than the equivalent cylinder, they can be installed in tight spaces where a cylinder wouldn’t fit.

In Sunderland, Gentoo Group chose this solution for 364 high-rise flats which otherwise wouldn’t have been able to move away from gas combi boilers as the properties didn’t have room for a hot water cylinder.

Not only suitable for high-rise retrofits, Lar Housing Trust installed Thermino heat batteries and Shoebox ground source heat pumps in a historic church which has been converted into modern townhouses for social rent.

The combination of networked ground source heat pumps and Thermino heat batteries has huge potential to decarbonise heating and hot water in space-constrained homes on a large scale.