Stithians village in Cornwall ground source heat pumps with Kensa

It should eventually see the pumps provide homes in Stithians with all their heat and hot water.

Lord Matthew Taylor, former Liberal Democrat MP for Truro and St Austell, officially opened the Heat the Streets project last week, with Kensa Utilities breaking ground in the most ambitious part of the project - the retrofitting of private homes in the village, which does not have a mains gas supply.

Lord Taylor was on hand in Stithians to officially start the borehole drilling, which is the first step in the installation of the split ownership ground arrays.

He said: “Heat the Streets in Stithians is a national first, the first time a cost-effective way has been demonstrated to achieve the UK’s net-zero targets for heating existing housing stock.

“Already delivering the lowest running costs for heating homes of any system, Kensa’s model of a ‘street main’ for ground source heat to enable affordable zero carbon heating for every home in the street is the world’s first.

“It is great that Cornwall is leading the way in solving the issue of decarbonising heat for homes affordably, an incredible achievement for a Cornish business which is already the UK market leader by far in ground source heating systems.

“The village of Stithians will be attracting national attention as this system rolls out a solution which will keep families affordably warm and help save the planet.”

The drill rig ready to dig the boreholes Picture: Emily Whitfield-Wicks (Image: Emily Whitfield-Wicks)

Through Heat the Streets, homes in Stithians will be part of a street-by-street retrofit programme that will see existing heating systems replaced with efficient ground source heat pumps that are made just three miles from the village.

Thanks to support from the European Regional Development Fund, all the equipment is being provided with no upfront cost to the homeowner.

Residents will pay to connect their heat pump, leading to split ownership. Each home will have its own ground source heat pump, offering residents full control over their heating, independent billing, and the flexibility to switch energy suppliers, much like a traditional gas boiler.

Lord Taylor discussing project with Kensa Utilities project manager Max Bridger Picture: Emily Whitfield-Wicks (Image: Emily Whitfield-Wicks)

Kensa Utilities’ director of business development Lisa Treseder said: “The ground array infrastructure serving ground source heat pumps has a lifespan of around 100 years, making it ideal for split ownership and long-term investment.

“The ground array represents over a third of the cost of a ground source heating system. By splitting out this system cost, Kensa will make ground source heating more accessible to British households. We hope that this infrastructure will eventually take the place of the UK’s gas network."