Heating is one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions in the UK and to reach Net Zero by 2050, low carbon heating must be employed across the UK.

Kensa Utilities Limited was awarded a £3.2 million grant by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to part-fund Heat the Streets, a £3.9 million Cornish renewable heating project.

The Heat the Streets project was awarded funding to demonstrate Kensa’s pioneering business model and to support the shift towards a low carbon economy.

In the project, existing off-gas heating systems were replaced with Kensa’s ‘Shoebox’ heat pumps and new radiators throughout to maximise energy efficiency. The heat pumps were connected to a shared underground renewable heat source: A network of ~100m deep boreholes providing stable year-round warmth.

Energy Systems Catapult worked with Kensa Utilities Limited and Winning Moves to deliver an ERDF summative assessment.

The three short reports summarise the key findings of the summative assessment, with relevant content for three audiences: policymakers, new build developers, and household customers. The aim of the reports is to raise awareness of the project and the approach taken.

Key findings

• The approach worked for a variety of housing types including new builds and existing privately owned homes.
• Householders are happy to pay a monthly fee for a low carbon heating system, rather than paying upfront.

Key findings for household customers

• The approach adopted by the project made low carbon heating accessible to more households.
• Customers were generally impressed as to how accommodating the installers of the systems were.
• The ground source heating systems kept their homes at a comfortable temperature.

Key findings for new build developers

• The project demonstrated an affordable route for new build developers to add a renewable ground source heating system in their developments.
• There were no significant changes to a typical new build development process and the installations were easily accommodated.

Key findings for policymakers

• The project demonstrated an approach for reducing the upfront cost of low carbon heating.
• Heating systems were installed in 45 new and existing homes at the time of the summative assessment (97 were installed in total).
• Domestic heating carbon emissions calculated to be reduced by 87 tonnes per annum across the 45 homes (174 tonnes per annum calculated for the 97 homes).