Homebuilder’s choice of Daikin heat pumps triggers couple’s smart home campaign

A Buckinghamshire house – built by developer Hayfield Homes – sees its Daikin air source heating and hot water system take centre stage in a radical smart home initiative.

What has been installed?

The four-bedroom detached house at Hayfield Walk, Hanslope, has an 8kW Daikin Altherma low temperature heat pump in a split system.

The heat pump – based on R32 refrigerant, which has a low global warming potential – is positioned behind the double garage, making good use of the system’s long pipe run capability. The wall-hung indoor hydrobox transfers heat energy as required to the underfloor heating system downstairs, radiators upstairs and a Daikin 300 litre domestic hot water cylinder.

How have Hayfield and Daikin worked together on this project?

Hayfield’s Procurement Director, Jon Watts, says: “We wanted to partner with a specialist manufacturer, Daikin has a long history of manufacturing and supplying quality air conditioning units and heat pumps across the globe, and has a very good reputation within the industry.

What is a 'Real Smart Home'?

As a smart home business, we have a completely new approach to smart homes. We combine all the smart devices together into one single app so people can control their heating, lighting, blinds, door locks – everything in one place. And obviously the Daikin system is one of the items in the equation because it’s easy to integrate and use. We’re really happy to have it on board.

We call it a ‘Real Smart Home’ because up until now people considered a smart home to be 10 different apps for 10 different things. The devices are smart, but the home is not. So, we call it a ‘Real Smart Home’ when everything is in one place.

At the heart of the Hanslope house is a smart hub that not only provides fingertip control of the heating and hot water system, but also the lights, curtains, and other devices throughout the house. Potentially, any electrical appliance can be connected and controlled – as can the emitters of the heating system.

How are you using the hot water system?

Also contributing to the overall economy of the system is the insulation of the Daikin cylinder, which gives it one of the lowest heat loss ratings on the market – so the water stays hot for longer.

We are also taking advantage of our energy provider’s cheaper prices at certain times. We only heat the hot water tank during those periods of time unless it’s completely cold. So it's ready to use in the morning.

The sky’s the limit for automating the system – as long as there are sensors and relevant applications in place. And if there are visitors and a greater demand for hot water, the system automatically adjusts the water-heating cycle.