Sixteen Passivhaus social homes benefit from heat pump service

A development of sixteen social homes designed and built to achieve Passivhaus standard has been constructed in Dalbeattie, Dumfries & Galloway, with the support of Baxi and its air source heat pump solutions and services.

To play its part in the delivery of these new net zero homes for Loreburn Housing Association, heating contractor James Frew Ltd required a solution that would provide sustainable heat to the properties: in this case, air source heat pumps.

The team then needed to find a strategic partner that would be able to offer the solutions and on-site support to implement the technology. Facing stringent design requirements to make the homes efficient and low carbon,

James Frew Ltd partnered with Baxi to benefit from its full range of support services, training and efficient products. Designed by architects Robert Potter and Partners and built by main contractor Ashleigh (Scotland) Ltd, the two and three-bedroom properties were to meet the highest standards of energy efficiency and comfort – part of Loreburn’s commitment to delivering new homes fit for the future. This type of home will play a key role as local authorities and housing associations Loreburn look to deliver new homes in line with the New Build Heat Standard (Scotland) or Future Homes Standard. Using the Passivhaus model, the entire home had to be designed around achieving the best energy efficiency as well as the heating source being a heat pump. This involved specifying not only the insulation and windows to meet the standard, but also the correctly sized heat pump for each home. Space was also a consideration in the homes. The design needed to guarantee there was ample room for the internal and external elements of the heat pump solution, without compromising on comfort for tenants. The James Frew team worked closely with Baxi’s experts – Specification Manager Craig McVicar and Engineering Solutions Manager Ryan Kirkwood – to ensure the correct specification of heat pump for the design requirements of each house. Baxi’s air source heat pumps, compatible cylinders and uSense controls were specified to provide the heating and hot water provision for each of the 16 homes through three radiators.

As part of Baxi’s heat pump service, the team of engineers had access to the company’s specialist training to allow them to become familiar with the specified solution and be confident in installing it before the project began.

They also benefitted from expert support on site, ensuring the full system was designed correctly and could be installed within the space. Baxi’s Commissioning Engineers, Michael Murray and Adam Stock, were on hand to oversee the commissioning of each of the heat pumps and make certain they would operate as expected once in place at each home. Evan Peat, Senior Contract Manager at James Frew Ltd, said: “From tender to completion, it has been great to have the support of Baxi’s expert service throughout the process. The design support and training meant the team had peace of mind that the most suitable products would be going into the homes and that our engineers were comfortable with the installation of them. “It was also really important to have the support on site from Craig and Ryan. Having their expertise on the ground meant we were able to overcome this challenge and still meet the Passivhaus standard.” Rob Pearse, Director of Distribution Sales at Baxi UK, added: “This innovative project is a great example of how collaboration and consultation can result in amazing results for delivering net zero social housing. As heating solutions experts, we can work closely with social housing providers and their appointed contractors to consider the different approaches for low-carbon heating, selecting the most suitable combination of solutions for the application.

“Whether it is a new build project to Passivhaus standard like this one or decarbonising existing developments through retrofit, we are committed to providing the complete home service to our social housing clients.”

Alison Maxwell, Project Delivery Officer for Loreburn HA commented “The standard of these homes is testament to Loreburn’s commitment to building warm and highly energy efficient homes, where technology and intelligent design come together to create a sustainable future for our tenants”. Speaking about his experience of living in one of the properties, Alan Vinnie, a Loreburn tenant added “It’ll really help to lower my energy bills which is a huge relief. You can really notice the change in the air and it’s so quiet. I think all future builds should be of this quality”.

This article appears in the AT Journal Spring 2025 issue as 'Case study: Sixteen Passivhaus social homes benefit from heat pump service' written by Baxi.

--CIAT

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