Farmleigh Grove, Walton-on-Thames Since 1980, Octagon have been developing prestigious new homes in premier, private residential areas in and around London and the South-East. Specifically designed with individual interior and exterior features, Octagon (www.octagon.co.uk) also incorporate an intricate array of in-house technology. A natural extension of this innovative mindset was to explore the advantages to be gained by utilising the latest renewable technologies – particularly as they provided benefits when seeking planning consent. Farmleigh Grove on the the Burwood Park Estate; the latest 4 of more than a dozen prestigious Octagon properties to be specified with GreenTec Systems – integrated heating, ventilation and cooling systems powered by Ground Source Heat Pumps that give a greatly reduced carbon footprint, with the bonus of a supremely comfortable environment.The GreenTec Systems produce no local fossil fuel emissions and have remarkably low running costs. Just as importantly, the constant delivery of fresh, filtered air confers great health benefits – particularly for asthma and allergy sufferers. And with the steady rise in Summer temperatures expected to continue, it’s great to know that the system keeps the internal temperatures under control for a miniscule cost – the coolant used is a waste by-product from the Heat Pump.
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Farmleigh Grove: GreenTec Systems in four homes
Heating: Each Farmleigh Grove house is powered by a 17kW Ground Source Heat Pump manufactured by NIBE of Sweden – a country where more than 90% of homes are fitted with Heat Pumps.
The Heat Pumps draw their energy from beneath each property through 3 x 100mtr deep boreholes, supplying all the hot water required for domestic and heating purposes. In periods of extreme cold, the Heat Pump can be assisted by its own built-in immersion heaters. When required, heat contained in extracted air is recovered (at no cost) to be used to heat incoming air – a system we call Heat Recovery Ventilation.
Ventilation: The system extracts stale air from wet areas – the kitchen and bathrooms – replacing it with fresh, filtered air fed into the living areas; the system is sized to completely replace all the air in the house every two hours. The temperature of the incoming air is automatically raised or lowered as necessary according to outside temperatures using GreenTec's Heat Recovery Ventilation and Comfort Cooling.
Cooling: As the outside temperature rises, the GreenTec System initially turns off the Under Floor Heating and Heat Recovery Ventilation systems. If the temperature in the house continues to rise, the system starts to cool incoming air using the cold fluid that is a by-product from the Heat Pump; Comfort Cooling.
Environment: Each home uses 60-80% less energy than a conventionally-powered property would, and there are no local CO2 emissions.
Complementing their superb design, the four GreenTec–equipped homes at Farmleigh Grove will have a supremely comfortable, healthy, living environment within a minimal carbon footprint. And their new owners will certainly appreciate their very low running costs.