To help housebuilders and developers, Kensa is offering ground source heat pumps for the price of air source heat pumps.

Kensa Contracting manages projects end to end and Kensa Utilities will fund, own and maintain the shared ground array infrastructure necessary for large-scale ground source systems. This is designed to remove the cost and hassle for housebuilders, who simply fund the heat pump and internal heating distribution system.

Each property will pay a monthly standing charge to access the shared ground array, for a minimum 40-year agreement, just like any other traditional utility.

This emulates the current gas grid and means that housebuilders and homeowners can reap the benefits of harnessing underground heat to keep their houses warm and provide hot water, and even cooling. Kensa claims the addition of an energy-efficient and low-carbon ground source heat pump will increase the value and saleability of a newbuild property.

UK ground temperatures remain constant year-round and ground source heat pumps utilise this stored solar energy. They can deliver 3 to 4kW of renewable energy for every 1kW of electricity, and they produce no point-of-use emissions.

This makes carbon compliance easier and cheaper in developments, improving SAP ratings, and avoiding the costly addition of energy-saving measures to meet Part L Building Regulations.

The funded offer from Kensa ensures housebuilders can quickly and cost-effectively future-proof their new developments with ground source heat pumps to comply with the interim target of a 30% reduction in carbon emissions ahead of the Future Homes Standard in 2025.

Wouter Thijssen, MD of Kensa Utilities, says: “Homeowners prefer ground-source. Of all viable heating options, it is the cheapest to run, the least hassle to maintain, has the longest lifespan, creates the least noise and visual impact, and it allows for low-cost cooling. It does however cost more upfront to install, due to the shared ground array located outside the property.

“But when you install gas, you don’t buy and own your own mini-gas network, so we emulate this arrangement. By Kensa Utilities funding & owning this in return for a standing charge, the upfront cost for a housebuilder should be lower than air-source heat pumps and your end-user should pay less to run the system too because of its higher efficiencies. Win-win.”