Evaluation of potential heating and hot water generation strategies for a range of new-build developments to be constructed in the next 10 years.
At a glance
Housing Advisers Programme case study
2021/22 cohort
It was a pleasure to work with Jamie and the team from Arup. They demonstrated clear knowledge of the subject area and have produced a detailed report which addresses some of the typical sites and constraints encountered locally in North Tyneside. Our workshops with Jamie also highlighted new and innovative technology that is currently infancy and may become available in the coming years, giving us a reference point for our own in-house CPD/learning programme.
Workshop attendee
Executive summary
The work undertaken by Arup has given North Tyneside Council’s Housing and Property Services teams the support and further insight into the low-carbon technologies available to inform future Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) design for our new build homes. The case studies featured in the final report include for a range of typical sites within the borough of North Tyneside of varying scales and with varying site constraints. The Council, as part of the journey towards North Tyneside being carbon net zero by 2030, has pledged that all future housing developments will not use gas in line with its the overarching carbon reduction initiatives and therefore the work done by Arup, ahead of further upcoming 2025 Part L changes in relation to the Future Homes Standard, has played a significant part in the development and update to the output specification for space and water heating systems for new housing projects. In tandem with this project, the Council has delivered the first off-gas new build council housing development using Air Source Heat Pumps and Solar PV, with further technologies being considered for future sites as they come forward.
Challenge and context
The report contains a range of sites with varying constraints to allow the team to consider what options for renewable technologies are feasible in the early feasibility stages of a project. The sites range from larger greenfield areas to small and complex infill brownfield sites.
What we did
We held a number of workshops with Arup with attendees from varying teams within Property Services. In these workshops we were able to discuss the pipeline of sites and past projects to generate an appropriate selection of sites that Arup could use as a focus for their reporting. We provided Arup with a newly developed house-type range to enable them to model the thermal performance of the dwellings with alternative technologies.
The difference we made
The report recommendations will continue to inform the decision-making process for space and water heating solutions as we develop designs for new build housing sites.
What's next?
Continue to review and implement the recommendations from ARUP’s report as and when new sites come forward for development. Work closely together as a multi-disciplinary team to update output specifications when legislation changes require it as well as when new technologies are identified for implementation on individual sites.
Lessons learned
The recommendations in ARUP’s report reflect what technologies are currently available for consideration. As we move forward there will be new innovations in the field of low carbon and renewable technology and as such we must continue to explore these to ensure the best outcomes for our New Build Housing stock.