Our project with Fairheat at The Meadows estate has been named ‘district heating project of the year’ at the H&V News Awards.
The judges commented on the significant challenge to improve the network which we and Fairheat managed to overcome.
The Meadows, also known as Windmill Park, in Mitcham had been troubled by leaks, poor heating and hot water reliability along with high energy consumption. In 2022 we partnered with Fairheat to overhaul the system.
This involved designing, delivering and managing a project to retrofit the existing system. The aim was to address the core issues and provide a reliable service for residents along with improving energy efficiency.
Dan Perager, head of heat and hot water at Notting Hill Genesis, said: “The Windmill Park project presented a huge challenge to us as a team as there were significant issues that would not be easy to solve. We were confident when partnering with Fairheat that together we would find innovative solutions that would transform the struggling network into a model of efficiency.
“We were able to do this through strategic investment – replacing equipment, updating the heat interface units and introducing controls and measures to boost water quality. Most notably, the system is future proofed to allow for further improvements to carbon efficiency.
“It’s great to see the benefit of this project on the everyday lives of residents.”
Peter Horne, Lead Engineer at FairHeat, said: “Windmill Park is undeniably deserving of this award. It has been one of the most challenging projects I’ve encountered, particularly from a retrofit perspective. Since our involvement, we have successfully restored the heat network to a functional state, providing customers with reliable heat delivery. Windmill Park’s significant progress and Notting Hill Genesis’s commitment to improving service reliability, with the invaluable support of FairHeat, made it a standout contender for this prestigious award.”
The project included the following:
- Replacing corroded equipment and installing expansion loops in corridors to manage the thermal contraction and expansion of plastic pipework. This led to enhanced service reliability and eliminated leaks
- Retrofitting the risers within all blocks and townhouses, with new prefabricated pipework, as the pre-existing risers were at risk of serious burst
- Updating 212 Heat Interface Units (HIUs), which meant a dramatic reduction in pump energy consumption, resulting in substantial annual savings and carbon footprint reduction
- Introducing vacuum degassers and other water quality equipment to improve the system's overall efficiency. In addition, a remote water quality monitoring system was installed which allowed for continual monitoring of the system water quality
We are proud to have been able to make this change to benefit the lives of residents.
