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Once an engineer, always an engineer…and that’s how a Norfolk homeowner is tackling the challenge of making his house as energy efficient, green and comfortable as possible – without spending too much money in the process. David Rose and his wife Sadie have lived in their four-bedroom house in Downham Market for five years. It is a 20-year-old detached timber frame structure, clad in brick.
David is a former RAF aircraft engineer with 31 years’ service in the UK and abroad. His engineering instincts led David to explore the possibilities for home improvement – especially in terms of using efficient modern technology to ensure affordable comfort levels.
Engineer’s quest for efficiency and comfort proves a real game-changer
The recent installation of a 7kW Daikin Altherma Monobloc heat pump tops a ‘done’ list that includes additional insulation to minimise heat loss, and solar photovoltaic panels on the southfacing slope of the roof. David says: “The archaic gas fire in the lounge and the gas boiler we inherited with the house were unreliable and expensive to run – so the system as a whole was not adequate for our heating and hot water requirements."
“The solar panels we put in were doing an amazing job, but not enough. I reasoned that an air source heat pump could be a good solution especially when our energy supplier, EDF, told us about Daikin and the subsidy opportunities through the government’s Green Deal."
David Rose, homeowner
EDF put David in touch with Robert Hill at EOC Services, Downham Market-based Daikin Premium Partner. EOC Services is a sister company of East Anglia Renewables Centres which partners Daikin in the region’s first Sustainable Homes Centre. Robert says: “Unusually for an installation like this, the existing hot water cylinder was retained because it has a wet coil and two immersion heaters, one of which is powered by the solar panels. If necessary, the heat pump kicks in to raise the temperature via the wet coil. The second immersion heater is switched on by the heat pump in extreme circumstances or for legionella control.”
David’s quest for energy efficiency went a step further. “We decided to re-insulate the lounge and move the radiator feed and return pipes inside the insulated cavity. The result is neat and tidy – and there will be less heat loss.” The system is designed to maintain temperatures at 20-21oC in the lounge.
