Ecodan QUHZ heat pumps strike success at Bowling Court

Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan QUHZ air source heat pumps have been installed at the Bowling Court apartment building in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, and residents have been reaping the rewards since installation was completed earlier this year.

Bowling Court, which is managed by the charity Hightown Housing Association, had previously relied on electric heating, and was looking for a new, low cost system. By selecting the 4kW monobloc Ecodan QUHZ heat pump system and thermal store, the buildings’ tenants are said to be benefitting from low cost heating, efficient hot water production and reliable, renewable heat provision all year round.

Mark Salmon, procurement manager at Hightown Housing Association, believes the installation will prove to be a great investment, saying: “The benefits of the Ecodan system, both short and long-term, played a big part in our decision to upgrade the heating system at Bowling Court. Its flexibility, easy operation, low noise levels and, perhaps most importantly, low running costs will prove popular with our tenants at Bowling Court.”

This popularity is already evident, with one tenant saying that the Ecodan system has reduced her heating bill from £35 a week to £15.

Kim Faulkner, managing director at Faulkners, a Reading-based installation company with years of experience dealing with renewable technologies, praised the Ecodan system. “Air source heat pumps are an ideal solution that will help reduce both running costs and emissions over traditional carbon-intensive heating”, said Kim. “The Ecodan system is particularly suitable for properties like Bowling Court, which is in an off-gas area.”

Finding a system that could reduce fuel costs was particularly important for Hightown Housing Association as they pride themselves in being able to assist those who cannot afford to buy or rent a home at market value. Tenants are able to control their heating and hot water via Wi-Fi with Mitsubishi’s MELCloud application; a built-in energy monitoring system which comes as standard with the Ecodan heat pumps. They are able to monitor their energy consumption, set up schedules and timers, get temperature history reports, receive a live weather feed from the Ecodan’s location and share or restrict access to the application. All this is said to help tenants to better manage their heat and energy usage, lowering their heating costs.

As well as helping to reduce fuel costs, the Ecodan QUHZ also operates with a very low noise output. This was a key factor in Hightown selecting the QUHZ as it enabled the units to be fitted on the balcony of all properties.

More information on the Ecodan QUHZ can be found here.