Meaden Project, Peterborough

In 2012, Emma and Richard Meaden bought a remote 400-year-old farmhouse near Peterborough, with plans to build a sustainable home. The ambition was for the finished house to cost as little as possible to run.

As such, several energy-saving measures were put in place, including rainwater harvesting and the use of SIPS panels for the new extension. As the property is in an off-gas area and has 1.5 acres of land, a ground source heat pump was suggested as an ideal solution. A Vaillant geoTHERM exclusive 8kW was installed, with a built-in 175 litre tank for domestic hot water, along with a Vaillant 300 litre buffer tank. The installation of underfloor heating throughout the house is perfectly suited to a ground source heat pump due to the low flow temperature, and efficiency of the system is maximised through the use of a weather compensation control.

The Meaden Project is a special case in that so much work was undertaken on the existing property that the finished product is effectively a new build. It is estimated that the running costs of the heat pump are half those of an equivalent oil system; in terms of fuel savings, the figure stands at approximately £32,125 (vs oil) over a period of 20 years. The system is eligible for Renewable Heat Incentive payments under the new tariff at 18.8 pence per kilowatt hour.