We felt that it was important to consider all the potential solutions available to Connexus rather than just the most obvious one. This meant that they were able to make the most informed decision by weighing up the pros and cons of each potential solution.”
Harry Eaves
Senior Energy Consultant
Zenergi
The welfare of our residents is of the utmost importance to us and we’re passionate about providing a great service to them at all times. We recognised that the biomass boilers were not delivering the excellent level of service we are focused on and sought a solution that would provide improved heating and therefore quality of living, with minimal disruption to residents. I am delighted with the work and even more pleased that residents are achieving a reduction in heat use, recognising valuable energy savings.”
Tony Jones
Head of Asset Management
Connexus
Connexus is a rural housing group focused on providing high-quality, affordable housing to Herefordshire and Shropshire counties. Eleven years after its award-winning Rocks Green shared ownership development was completed, issues were beginning to concern both the residents and the Connexus team.
Increasingly, Connexus was spending time and money dealing with boiler failures, billing irregularities and issues with the control systems and heat exchanges in the properties. The residents weren’t happy either. Bills seemed to be high and many were noticing energy being consumed even when the heating was switched off.
Zenergi was asked to investigate how efficiency could be improved.
Our in-depth investigation identified several issues that were impacting the efficiency of the boiler system. We also provided detailed evaluations of alternative solutions: replacing the biomass system with natural gas boilers in the plant room, providing natural gas boilers in each property, as well as using air source heat pumps in each property.
Connexus weighed up the options before deciding on a route forwards.
They opted to repair and replace the low-carbon biomass system thereby maintaining the energy efficiency and integrity of the original design. Another organisation was tasked with carrying out the work, with Zenergi overseeing the project management.
In all, the heat interface units in each of the 91 properties were replaced and the system connectivity was also improved. Repairs were made to the system’s boilers too.
Once completed, training was provided to all the residents to help them get the best out of the new system. Clear guidelines were included to show residents who to contact with any future issues.
The results?
Today, the residents are no longer paying for heating they’re not using and they are thankfully consuming less energy than before. The entire project was delivered with minimal disruption to the Rocks Green residents.
heat interface units replaced
In the end, maintaining the ethos of the original development was a wise route forward and we were delighted to manage the implementation with minimal disruption to the residents.”
John Netherwood
Chief Operations Officer
Zenergi
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