In September 2021, Equan were appointed by Newcastle City Council under a JCT Design & Build Contract to undertake various decarbonisation works at Denton and Hilltop Towers in West Denton, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Denton and Hilltop Towers are two, 14-storey reinforced concrete, high rise residential tower blocks consisting of 163 occupied units. Newcastle City Council engaged Equans to develop a bespoke solution to their ongoing issues surrounding the lifecycle of the gas boilers installed within the flats within each tower block. The aim of the project was to decarbonise both tower blocks, by removing the gas infrastructure used for heating and cooking and replacing it with an all-electric Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP)renewable technology solution.
These works were carried out with residents in situ, with the site team working floor-by-floor installing new pipework and the assorted equipment for the GSHPs. This required careful programming by the site team, to minimise disruption in the blocks, as well as close work between residents and Equans’ Resident Liaison Officer (RLO) to keep them informed of the project’s progress.
The project is ultimately beneficial for residents, who will see savings on energy bills and a reduction in the carbon footprint of both blocks, thanks to the complete removal of the old gas system. This project is one of just a handful of similar schemes in the country and is an example of best practice for completely overhauling an inefficient heating system, with an innovative zero-carbon alternative.
Three Winning Facts:
- Decarbonising the towers avoided 4,300 tonnes of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere over the next 30 years.
- Close work with residents resulted in a customer satisfaction score of 98% at the end of the project.
- Using an innovative Ground Source Heat Pump solution allowed residents to make savings on their energy bills and has set a new standard for similar works in the future, with decarbonisation efforts able to use Denton & Hilltop as a base.
