A Glaswegian district heating installation in has used REHAU‘s RAUTHERMEX Plus pipework, with the objective to give more over 350 homes affordable, low carbon heating.
The Hillpark Drive estate in the south of the city was built in the 1970s and comprises of eight individual apartment blocks, containing 351 flats.
In 2016, Glasgow Housing Association secured a £2.5m grant to put into a £5m project to upgrade the heating systems installed in the estate, with the ambition to help provide affordable heating for its tenants, reduce carbon emissions and increase sustainability.
Project consultants WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff put forward the idea of having the existing electric storage heaters replaced with a low carbon district heating system, powered by an innovative industrial air source heat pump by Star Refrigeration, that had never been seen on this scale before in this country.
When deliberating about the materials for the pipework, the consultants looked at both polymer and steel options, carefully considering how the performance and ease of installation of each.
After consulting with REHAU about its district heating offer, WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff opted to use over 1km of RAUTHERMEX Plus for the project.
This revolutionary district heating system will help provide heating and hot water at inexpensive rates, important for helping tackle the issue of fuel poverty in the area.
RAUTHERMEX Plus piping can last up to 50 years, so is capable of providing heat to the residents of Hillpark Drive estate for at least two generations.
Steve Richmond, Head of Marketing and Technical in Building Solutions at REHAU described it as a ‘fine example’ of how social housing can be made more energy efficient for the benefit of both the tenants and the environment.
He also said REHAU were ‘very proud’ to have been chosen to contribute to it.
