Homes for the homeless that are Fit for the Future
There are 282,000 people currently classed as homeless in the UK, according to the national charity for homeless people, Crisis1. To help tackle this, award-winning housebuilder The Hill Group set out a mission to donate 200 purpose-built modular homes that would provide people experiencing periods of homelessness with fully equipped, safe and secure single dwellings to live in before finding a permanent home.
Having cultivated a collaborative working relationship with Hill for several years, Vaillant specified and installed six of its aroTHERM air source heat pump units to Hill’s SoloHaus development in South Tottenham, London to help with the heating and hot water needs.
‘Meanwhile’ Homes
In 2019, to mark their 20th year of business, 5-star housebuilder The Hill Group launched Foundation 200 as an initiative to give back to the local areas in which they operate, making a £15m pledge to donate 200 ‘meanwhile’ SoloHaus homes. A meanwhile home is a temporary or relocatable home, sited on vacant land or land unsuitable for larger permanent development. It makes the best use of such areas to provide a well-designed home to meet the housing crisis in a more simplified route through the planning process.
Designed specifically to assist homeless people in transitioning to permanent accommodation, the purpose-built SoloHaus homes provide a safe and secure space for people experiencing homelessness to live in providing much-needed dignity and independence, while they rebuild their lives.
Having enjoyed a long-standing relationship working with Hill spanning several years, Vaillant was keen to support the worthwhile cause and, as part of the Vaillant Standard specification process, provided expert design services for Hill’s SoloHaus development in South Tottenham, London. The award-winning scheme is a joint venture between Haringey Council and The Hill Group, providing 33 SoloHaus homes to support localised homeless initiatives.
Low Carbon, Low Cost
It was decided in the early stages of the Foundation 200 project that energy efficiency would be the primary goal when designing the new development in Haringey. This would help drive down carbon emissions and ensure energy bills were economical.
The 24 square metre SoloHaus homes are manufactured and constructed off-site by Hill’s business partner Volumetric Modular Ltd and can be easily transported to the chosen site for the development. Each SoloHaus sits on six foundation pads to minimise groundworks, with minimal connections required to provide electricity, water, and transport waste.
As part of the Vaillant Standard, which encompasses the end-to-end support offered by the business to specifiers, Vaillant’s dedicated design services team created a bespoke heating system design, including fully indemnified heat loss calculations, for the Haringey development, which would utilise Vaillant’s aroTHERM air source heat pumps.
Working closely with Hill on the sizing requirements, it was established that just one 11kW aroTHERM heat pump would sufficiently fulfil the heating and hot water requirements of six SoloHaus homes, and therefore a total of six heat pumps would be required for the entire development.
For the new tenants, this efficient use of design together with energy efficiency measures means that the energy bills for each SoloHaus are well below that of a conventional home.
Steve Cipriano, Commercial Director at Vaillant said: “These are purpose-built homes that are bespoke to a very specific tenant, which for us made it an extremely rewarding project to work on. The insulation in the SoloHaus homes is of incredibly high quality, from the double-glazed windows to the insulated walls. This, and the compact size of the properties, means that a single aroTHERM heat pump can efficiently provide heating and hot water to multiple dwellings.”
Fit for the Future
In addition to the social responsibility ambitions of the project, Foundation 200 was also an opportunity for Hill to start building the homes of the future, today. With each of the properties’ heating and hot water needs provided by Vaillant’s aroTHERM heat pumps, together with a high standard of insulation, the energy efficient SoloHaus already meets the Future Homes Standard ahead of its introduction in 2025.
The Future Homes Standard will require new build homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency; resulting in 75-80% less carbon emissions than homes delivered under current regulations.
The aroTHERM heat pump is highly efficient, with a Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) value of up to 4.58. It also has an incredibly quiet operation, with sound power as low as 54dB(A)t thus achieving the Quiet Mark accreditation.
Tom Hill, Regional Director at The Hill Group comments: “The Hill Group is committed to reaching net zero carbon in our business operations and in the homes we build. We see no reason to wait for the legislation to come into effect in 2025, and are pleased to have the design, tools, and technical expertise to build to the new standards today.”
Discreet installation
Vaillant provided the developers with its expert design services, to help with the heat loss calculations and heating system design of the SoloHaus development, and to ensure the project met heat pump best practice. In addition, Vaillant also donated commissioning support to the Ermine Road project during the heat pump installation.
Larger, permanent domestic properties would usually have a heat pump situated in their outside space. However, a different approach had to be taken for the Haringey SoloHaus development as one heat pump would provide heat and hot water for six dwellings.
Based on Vaillant’s recommendation, six, bespoke mini plant rooms were designed and built in a discreet location at the back of the development. Each plant room is able to house a 300 litre uniSTOR heat pump cylinder whilst an 11kW aroTHERM air source heat pump is located outside. Collectively, this provides the heating and hot water requirements for all 33 of the SoloHaus homes.
Easy-to-use controls, from anywhere
To further support the project, Vaillant’s sensoCOMFORT control was also specified and installed in each of the plant rooms so that the heat pumps could be adjusted, checked and repaired from a central location. The sensoCOMFORT control takes care of the aroTHERM heat pumps automatically by intelligently communicating with the heating system, via a single, easy-to-use interface.
In addition, each SoloHaus home was fitted with simplified controls inside the dwellings which the residents can operate easily with minimal instructions. The installation of these controls has also allowed Haringey Council to easily transfer the ongoing maintenance of the development to their own housing officers and maintenance teams.
More homes on the horizon
Looking ahead, Vaillant will continue to support Hill on the Foundation 200 project, helping to design low carbon heating solutions for future developments in Cambridge, Cornwall, and Essex.
Steve Cipriano, Commercial Director at Vaillant commented: “Modern construction methods, such as modular housing, is a shining example of how the housebuilding industry is moving towards a sustainable future. Together with the use of Vaillant’s heat pumps to provide low carbon heating, the project in Haringey demonstrates how we can tackle the serious issue of homelessness whilst making positive changes for the good of the planet.”
Tom Hill, Regional Director at The Hill Group added: “Supporting the communities in the areas we operate has always been a focus for The Hill Group, and the SoloHaus project in Haringey is something we’re incredibly proud of. We’re already seeing the positive impact these homes are having on people’s lives and look forward to delivering SoloHaus developments in other areas across the UK.”
Half of the modular homes were donated to Haringey Council by The Hill Group in conjunction with their Foundation 200 initiative in 2021. The modular design, which has an estimated lifespan of 60 years, can be easily transported and relocated as needed.
To find out more about the design and support service, offered by the Vaillant Standard, please visit: www.vaillant.co.uk/unbox
For more information on SoloHaus, please visit www.solohaus.co.uk
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