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Heat pump outdoor unit in chimney

Sixty new homes in Almere's Nobelhorst housing development will have a special chimney by the end of this year. In this chimney is in fact an outdoor unit of a heat pump.

"The outside unit of a heat pump can take up quite a lot of space at a house. That is why we chose to place the outdoor unit of a Panasonic heat pump - of which we have been the distributor for about five years now - on the roofs of homes," says Jacques Roodenburg, advisor to heat pump solution provider Dutch Heat Pump Solutions (DHPS).

The HydroCap is an aluminum chimney cap that stylishly conceals the heat pump's outdoor unit. "The indoor unit of the system sits directly below it in the attic of the house. Installation work is minimal and the architect of the home does not have to worry about placement of a separate outdoor unit. The HydroCap has already been successfully applied as a solution in many projects," he indicates.

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Attractive finishing of the heat pump outdoor unit in the chimney

DHPS' idea of concealing the outdoor unit of a heat pump in the form of a chimney goes back to 2010. "The shape of a chimney fits the look of a house very well, and in addition, an aluminum chimney cap provides an aesthetically pleasing finish," Roodenburg believes. "That also appeals to architects. Another advantage of this design is saving space, because it means the outdoor unit does not have to be in the front or back garden or on the balcony of a home, for example. As a result, the HydroCap helps make homes more sustainable, as it is suitable for existing and for new construction. Another advantage is that the HydroCap is quick and easy to install completely prefabricated."

"De buitenunit van een warmtepomp kan best veel ruimte bij een woning in beslag nemen. Daarom hebben we ervoor gekozen om de buitenunit van een Panasonic warmtepomp op de daken van woningen te plaatsen."

Jacques Roodenburg (adviseur DHPS)

 

Sound blows away

In the implementation, DHPS, together with contractor Dura Vermeer and installation company Van Dam Groep, chose Panasonic heat pumps. In the 51 newly built homes - with an additional application for nine more - in the Nobelhorst district of Almere, residents can choose either an Aquarea All-in-One or an Aquarea Bi-bloc in 5 kW and 7 kW versions. "The main difference is that a Bi-bloc has a larger boiler of about 300 liters," Roodenburg says. "If a resident wants more hot water, the Bi-bloc is also a good option. And after installation and commissioning, residents don't have to touch anything."

In terms of noise requirements, the Panasonic heat pump is also a good choice, he explains. "Due to the tightened noise requirements that have been in place since April, we did choose to place the HydroCap higher on the roof. This blows the sound upwards, so residents can hardly hear the sound of the heat pumps' outdoor units. Panasonic advised and assisted us in this at the product level."

Watch the video about our project in the new housing estate Nobelhorst in Almere here.

Completion of the Nobelhorst

DHPS received the application for these HydroCaps in October 2020, after which implementation started in March 2021. The homes are expected to be delivered in December 2021. The latter also applies to the nine additional homes, for which the heat pump solution provider recently received an application.

Source: online platform Installation & Construction