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London's Set For First Large-Scale Heat Pump

Vital Energi are working with Southwark Council to deliver a £6.95m project which will see 2,175 properties across the Newington, Wyndham and Consort estates receive sustainable, low-carbon heat from pioneering water source heat pump project.

Vital Energi are working with Southwark Council to deliver a £6.95m project which will see 2,175 properties across the Newington, Wyndham and Consort estates receive sustainable, low-carbon heat from pioneering water source heat pump project.

The project makes use of the existing district heating network, but 3 retrofitted water source heat pumps will replace gas boilers as the primary heat source which will deliver a large carbon reduction across the estates and improve the air quality locally.

This is a particularly exciting project as it is the first large-scale retrofit of a water source heat pump project in the UK and we believe that this is a technology which will see wide-scale use in the coming years. We are proud to be working on this and other heat pump projects throughout the UK and look forward to helping Southwark Council on their journey to net zero carbon emissions. Importantly, it shows how the latest low-carbon technologies can be plugged into existing heat networks, opening up the opportunity to revolutionise the way we generate and use heat.

Rob Callaghan, Managing Director, London & South

Discover more about the project by viewing this animation

Heat will be taken from locally drilled bore holes where the water is naturally warmer and then run through the heat pumps to further increase temperature, before it is pumped out to customers This is an extremely efficient and reliable way of producing heat.

Cllr Johnson Situ, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, Planning & Transport and Cllr Leo Pollak, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “In Southwark we’re working with residents, businesses and anyone else who can help, to try and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Sitting alongside our commitment to plant 10,000 new trees, and our ongoing investment in renewable energy, this is exactly the sort of innovative and ground breaking project that will help us achieve our goal. 

“We are delighted to be working with Vital Energi, and will be checking in with residents living on the three estates, to see how they are getting along with their new, cleaner, green heating supply.” 

The project is due for completion in 2021 and when the heat pumps are in operation resident’s energy supply will be transformed over night to a low carbon renewable source.