Daikin heat pumps chosen for Clay Farm NZEB scheme

This article was originally published in issue 35 of Passive House Plus magazine. Want immediate access to all back issues and exclusive extra content? Click here to subscribe for as little as €10, or click here to receive the next issue free of charge

The second phase of Clay Farm, by leading developer Park Developments, features a mix of three and four-bed timber frame homes with A2 BERs.

Each dwelling has been fitted with a Daikin Altherma 3 air-to-water heat pump for central heating and hot water, along with thermostatically controlled low temperature radiators, and a Heatmiser Neo smart control system and app, with thermostats both upstairs and downstairs.

Each Altherma unit has a 180 or 230 litre hot water cylinder, depending on the dwelling size, integrated into one highly insulated and sleek fridge-like indoor unit.

“Even at the lowest temperatures the Altherma 3 can produce heat, even down to -15 C,” Ian Killoch of Daikin Ireland said. “It’s a very simple heat pump to use, and there are thermostats upstairs and downstairs, so that’s all the homeowner ever has to use.”

He continued: “This compressor works so efficiently and so fast that if you like it can produce water at 60 C. But what we’re trying to do, to make it very efficient, is keep the flow rate around the radiators at 45 C, while the hot water in the cylinder is kept around 45 C too. This is to keep the running costs down even more.”

Disinfection is controlled automatically by the heat pump to bring the hot water to 60 C for one hour each week.

All plumbing and heat pump installation on phase two of Clay Farm was completed by Jonathan Kelly of TC Heating & Plumbing. Each dwelling is also fitted with a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system to provide fresh, filtered, pre-heated air.

Clay Farm is within walking distance to the Leopardstown Valley Luas stop. The dwellings are also pre-wired for electric car charging, and the development features 14 acres of eco parkland with tracks, a cycling greenway and playground, all adding to its sustainability credentials