Project focus: Arrowfield

The Arrowfield low-carbon living project is a multi-million-pound retrofit of social housing heating systems, undertaken by Southway Housing Trust (SHT) – a Manchester-based housing association that manages 6,000 local homes.

In 2022, a survey of Southway’s residents found that 88% were keen to reduce their impact on climate change, so the trust made a pledge to become zero-carbon by 2038 and identified switching its homes from gas to electric heating as a crucial element to achieving this target.

The project, which retrofitted 233 homes with air source heat pumps, represents an ambitious retrofit of a south Manchester neighbourhood that will reduce the estate’s carbon footprint by as much as 50%. This project has contributed to the removal of 370 tonnes of CO2 a year in Arrowfield.

“Air source heat pumps are essential to SHT decarbonising our housing stock and achieving our net-zero goals,” says Matt Roberts, strategic director of property and development at Southway Housing Trust.

People power

Ahead of this ambitious project, a community engagement programme was established to spread greater awareness of heat pumps as a low-carbon heating solution. This also provided the opportunity for the trust to listen and respond to feedback from residents.

The Arrowfield Hub, located in a repurposed empty house on the estate, became a venue for regular engagement between the residents and the project team, creating an open forum for questions and comments on the proposed scheme.

The Hub was also heated by an air source heat pump, allowing residents to witness a heat pump in operation and experience for themselves the warmth of the building.

Residents were also able to express their concerns surrounding the project, which could then be addressed accordingly. SHT credits this regular and open engagement with residents as key to keeping them informed and more familiar with their proposed new heating systems.

The Hub also allowed for the project team to dispel common myths and misconceptions about air source heat pumps and reassure residents that their homes would remain warm throughout the year.

“Community engagement for the Arrowfield low-carbon living project was central to the project’s aims,” says Matt Roberts, strategic director of property and development at Southway Housing Trust.

“Foregrounding the needs of Arrowfield’s residents as central to the project’s implementation helped us to better convey the benefits of low-carbon heating and address concerns and suggestions brought forward by homes set to benefit from the retrofit scheme.”

Sustainable investment

In line with long-term government plans to electrify heat, SHT has replaced Arrowfield’s inefficient gas boilers to improve the fabric of homes and make them more energy efficient.

The scale of the project, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), has made it one of the UK’s biggest home retrofit schemes.

“The work at Arrowfield has cost £4.2 million, supported by £1.9 million grant funding from the European Regional Development Fund,” explains Mark Tomkinson, head of assets and sustainability at SHT. “The project has given Southway a great insight into the benefits new systems like this can bring. We will use this experience for other projects to bring similar benefits to our tenants living in other areas.

“In addition to our investment, Electricity North West spent about £2.5 million to reinforce the network and build new substations that could support the increased demand for electricity.”

Out with the old

Rothwell Plumbing Group (RPS) was chosen as the installation partner for the project, with a track record for delivering high quality heat pump systems, in both the public and private sectors. RPS are also MCS & Trustmark accredited, with the experience and technical ability to install NIBE systems to high standards.

RPS Group took charge of designing, supplying, and installing all systems including the ASHP and ambient loop systems, installing the NIBE F2040-6 and Daikin EBLA04E3V3 models to provide heating for the homes in the estate.

Southway’s aim is for the project to act as a learning process and blueprint for how it can scale up the retrofitting of its entire housing stock over the next 15 years.

“Air source heat pumps are currently the most advanced and widely adopted forms of low-carbon heating,” says Tomkinson. “The technology is so exciting because it is very simple to control for tenants, yet so advanced that when the heat pumps are used in the most efficient way, for average usage it is more affordable than traditional gas fired central heating. We’re working with residents to ensure they can get the best out of the system.”

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS

£4.2m residential retrofit

233 ASHP installed

50% carbon reduction

88% of residents wanted to reduce their environmental impact

370 tonnes of CO₂ saved per annum

Going live

Air source heat pumps have been providing heat and hot water to residents across the estate, adapting to the requirements of each home. The systems will provide homes across the estate with optimised energy and cost savings, whilst supplying a supply line temperature of up to 58°C regardless of outdoor temperatures – they are designed to supply heat even if the temperature outside dropped to -20°C.

“With the newly installed low-carbon heating systems, our residents can enjoy more comfort in their homes and, for many, the new systems can help reduce their bills,” says Tomkinson. “Their homes will also be prepared for the time when the UK moves to electricity-based heating and tariffs reduce.”

The trust also reviewed and improved the loft and cavity wall insulation in every home which had a new air source heat pump fitted so that the new systems can work efficiently.

“We also want to play our part in helping to achieve ambitious local aspirations for our area to be carbon zero by 2038,” adds Tomkinson. “The new systems will reduce residents’ carbon footprints, which will obviously help achieve that goal and benefit the environment.

“We’re undertaking an assessment of the savings residents can make and are also looking at other measures to maximise the benefits residents receive from having the air source heat pumps installed. These include ways to access more affordable tariffs that energy companies are starting to offer heat pump users and remote methods of flagging maintenance requirements so they can be attended to more quickly. We will be supporting residents to ensure they can get the most out of the new heat pumps.”