30 April 2026
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To support the sustainability objectives of a postgraduate college, heating manufacturer, Vaillant has collaborated with Darwin College at Cambridge University to help transition its heating and hot water supply from gas boilers to low carbon heat pumps at one of its student accommodation blocks.
The building itself comprises three floors, nine kitchens, en-suite 24 showering facilities and 54 student rooms - each one with its own basin. So, the new solution, which replaced the older gas boilers, had to be able to supply reliable heat and hot water volumes to meet the needs of a busy living space.
The college’s facility managers worked alongside Vaillant’s System Sales and Design team to develop an effective solution that would ensure sufficient heating and hot water supply to nine flats across three floors, as well as support and deliver on a sustainable future.
Specification
A total of nine Vaillant heat pumps were installed, compromising of six monobloc air source heat pumps and three split air source heat pumps.
The use of a mixed specification for the air source heat pumps is quite unconventional but serves a specific purpose. The split air source heat pumps, featuring an external unit connected to an internal hydrobloc, were chosen to minimise heat loss during transfer across the three floors of the housing block. Meanwhile, the monobloc units are ideal for locations where pipework needs to be kept to a minimum.
Innovative installation
As Gwen Raverat House was occupied throughout the installation period, great care was taken to ensure minimal disruption to the students living there. A rolling work programme undertook installation flat by flat, with the affected occupier moved to an alternative living space as the work was carried out, which also saw all radiators resized as required. Vaillant also helped provide educational resources on the new heating system to the students. Providing information for each occupant so that they could understand how the heat pumps worked.
The overall system is centrally controlled via nine Vaillant VR92 interfaces that feedback into a central system to maintain an ambient temperature throughout the building and ensure the hot water supply is consistent and reliable all year round.
Steve Cipriano, Commercial Director UK and Ireland: from Vaillant says: “The upgrade to the block housing Darwin College students has been an important retrofit project. Alongside general improvements to the fabric of the building, the university has invested in a proven and sustainable heating and hot water system that helps to further future proof the building, drive energy efficiency and lower its carbon footprint.
“Working with the college team, we have been able to specify an excellent heating solution that considered and met all of our design and location challenges. We also took great care to minimise any impact on the students through the installation phase as critical element of the overall project.”
Gary Reynolds, Projects & Buildings Manager for Darwin College, Cambridge University, comments: “We are delighted with the completed scheme that has seen the transformation of the heating and hot water needs at Gwen Raverat House, utilising low carbon technology with Vaillant’s impressive heat pump solutions.
“As we undertake retrofit upgrading schemes such as this, we are helping to improve the energy performance and impact of the buildings we rely upon and lay the foundations for sustainable, low carbon energy use in the future.”
www.professional.vaillant.co.uk/forinstallers/products/renewable-systems/ air-source-heat-pumps
