Elderly residents need reliable heating
A bungalow in Stoke is home to three elderly residents who need a constant and reliable source of heating. Owners of the supported housing, the Riverside Group, needed to replace the ancient oil-fired boiler and were keen to reduce running costs without compromising the comfort of their residents.
As the care home bungalow is in an area that’s not on the gas network, Riverside were faced with the need to renew the boiler, oil tank and all the pipework. Already aware of rising energy bills, they closely monitor their energy usage and were keen to find a heating system that could prove much more efficient than the existing oil-fired system they had.
Keen to find a better alternative to oil and unable to use gas, Riverside considered a number of alternatives, none of which seemed to offer the efficiency they needed and would cause too much disruption for the elderly residents.
The Riverside Group owns a large number of homes and were looking for ways in which they could improve efficiency and reduce their energy bills. Heating is obviously key to such care homes and as such accounts for a significant percentage of these bills. Having heard of Ecodan being installed in a number of new-build properties as part of the Governments Code for Sustainable Homes, the Riverside Group wanted to see how easily it could be fitted into existing homes.
Another key factor was the need for a reliable heating systemthat ensured constant comfort levels with minimal maintenance and disruption to the elderly guests. Every year Riverside needs to carry out safety checks on all appliances and the beauty of Ecodan means it requires only a quick visual check to ensure the vents are clear of debris.
