Newcastle City Council (NCC) worked with delivery contractor E.ON as part of the UK Government funded Electrification of Heat Demonstration project. They promoted the project to Newcastle residents with the aim of recruiting enough people to install 250 heat pumps.

The Council also worked with E.ON and Your Homes Newcastle (YHN), an Arms Length Management Organsation (ALMO), to install heat pumps in 19 of its social rented housing properties.

The Challenge

The recruitment and installation phase of the EoH project ran from July 2020 through to October 2021, and despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, 742 heat pumps were installed into a broad spectrum of housing types and socio-economic groups, that reflects a representative sample of households across Great Britain.

The range of different heat pumps installed, included:

• Low-temperature and high-temperature air source heat pumps
• Ground source heat pumps
• Hybrid heat pumps incorporated with a gas boiler
• Some additional technologies, such as heat batteries were incorporated.

Householders and social housing providers were asked to reflect on their first hand experiences of taking part in the programme, including disruption during the installation work, thoughts on the noise and aesthetics of the technology and the outcomes for warmth and comfort.

The Solution

A total of 19 NCC properties were successfully recruited to have heat pumps installed through this project.

NCC and YHN identified a block of flats where a communal ground source heat pump system with shared boreholes could be an option. The block of flats had 16 properties and had a very old and inefficient heating system, a heat pump system offered a great opportunity to reduce tenants’ fuel bills.

The other three installations were in mid-terraced properties where air source heat pump systems were installed to replace gas combi boilers.

The Outcome

The biggest benefit for residents has been the increase in comfort levels. The flats are warmer and residents no longer run out of hot water.

The project has provided both NCC and YHN with invaluable knowledge of the benefits and challenges of installing heat pumps in council and private properties.

Prior to the project, levels of heat pump awareness amongst NCC and YHN staff varied. The two organisations took the opportunity during the project to upskill their staff.