Cutting-edge hybrid heating system installed to transform Wellingborough house

Fire safe cladding and a hybrid heating system has transformed a previously energy inefficient home in Wellingborough.

The home, owned by Northants-based housing association Greatwell Homes, has been transformed inside and out with a new exterior and innovative heating system.

The outside of the property in Anderson Green, Wellingborough was covered with ivy with weathered cladding and an inefficient heating system.

When the property became vacant in Spring 2023, Greatwell Homes planned a three-month project to start in the following November to transform the home in partnership with contractors BSG Property Services and Griffiths Aircon.

The ivy, cladding and tiles were removed and replaced with fibre cement plank cladding which is low maintenance and durable.

With the highest possible fire rating for a coloured cladding board, it is non-combustible and will not ignite when exposed to direct flame or extreme heat and will not contribute fuel to a fire.

Before the cladding was fitted, insulation was installed to all exterior walls and the roof, as well as all facias, soffits and down pipes being replaced.

Inside, the home has been fitted with a hybrid hydrosplit heat pump which is a first for Greatwell Homes.

This innovative heating system uses an air source heat pump to power the heating system and incorporates a gas combi boiler for hot water heating.

Its smart technology means it can switch between the two to provide the most efficient usage; for example, in very cold conditions where the heat pump may struggle to convert energy, it will automatically switch to the gas combi to power the heat system and ensure the home remains warm.

The Electrical Performance Certificate [EPC] rating of the home has increased from an E to C resulting in lower running costs for the customers and lower carbon emissions for the environment.

The new heating system can heat a home with up to 60 per cent of renewable energy.

Rabinder Samrai, head of property investment at Greatwell Homes, said: “This home needed a lot of work to bring it up to our lettable standard.

"We also took the opportunity to use this home as a pilot for the hybrid heating system and the fibre cement cladding planks which will significantly increase the efficiency of this home.

“We are committed to investing in our existing homes including better insulation and renewable energy solutions to support our move of becoming a net zero carbon business by 2050.

"Projects such as this one, and the homes we’re improving in the next year helps us achieve this goal.”

In February 2024, Greatwell Homes started work on a separate project to increase the efficiency of 66 of their lowest efficiency rated homes.

The housing association secured £664,000 of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.

These homes will be fitted with new insulation in the walls and roofs, as well as new fibre cement plank cladding.

The home in Anderson Green was also rewired and fitted with a new kitchen and bathroom.

Work is still ongoing on the property to tidy up the front and rear gardens, paint the interior and fit a new porch which should be completed by the end of March.

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