Hawea Grove installation

With more and more of us looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment and to lower our carbon footprint, technology is playing a big part in making our sustainable home-building aspirations a reality.

From innovations such as air-water hydronic heat pumps and heat recovery ventilation systems to whole-house automation platforms that enable total control over energy consumption, homeowners have never been more in control of creating sustainably focused homes.

“We were approached by one of our installers in Queenstown—heated Limited—looking for a sustainable ventilation, central heating and cooling and domestic hot water solution or solutions for a property a friend of his was building,” says Bhawesh Singh, Technical Manager for Stiebel Eltron.

“The emphasis was on ‘sustainable’, as the homeowner wanted to build the most sustainable house he could but budget was also a consideration. There was only one solution, the Stiebel Eltron LWZ 8CS, an all-in-one unit for heating/cooling, hot water and ventilation.”

“To satisfy the homeowner’s requirements with a traditional install would have required two or three separate units but the LWZ 8CS, combines all of these features in a single unit with a footprint of less than 1.5sqm.

“The LWZ 8CS is the only all-in-one product available in the market and this was the first installation of this unit in New Zealand. While we brought this unit in specifically for this project, it will be a stock item going forward as we believe it has the potential to become a really popular solution for the residential market.”

The unit incorporates a 235-litre, integrated hot water cylinder and a high-efficiency pump for energy saving heat distribution with an output of up to 8.5kW. The energy in the 'waste air' that has been extracted from rooms such as the kitchen and bathrooms is transferred to the incoming fresh air with a heat recovery rate of up to 90 per cent. Installation of the system is also much easier as the unit has only a single inlet and a single outlet to the external wall for the heat pump and the ventilation system.

“The property at Hawea Grove also incorporates onsite electricity production via a photo-voltaic array, as well as a heat pump energy management system, which ensures efficiency and self-sufficiency. In terms of operational efficiency, the LWZ 8CS is producing heat at a seasonal efficiency of 400 per cent when compared to a normal electrical heater.”

“The LWZ 8CS has the capacity to be completely off-grid when combined with sustainable electricity generation and battery storage. With Hawea Grove, the owner opted for high self-sufficiency over complete independence from the grid,” says Bhawesh. “Whether you're looking for a level of self-sufficiency or total independence, this is the future of sustainable solutions for residential applications.”

Personal comfort has also been taken into consideration; the LWZ 8CS features an integrated sound dampening attenuator, limiting noise generation to 50dB, making it 25 per cent less noisy than the average domestic vacuum cleaner.

“It’s also kind on your pocket, coming in at a lower price point than you would pay for separate systems, as well as providing additional savings on installation costs.”

Bhawesh says the primary focus at this stage is on the new build market but the LWZ 8CS could easily be adapted to the suitable retrofit project, as well. Lead in time is around 8–10 weeks including 2–4 weeks for install and commissioning.

The Stiebel Eltron LWZ 8CS comes with a five-year product and installation warranty and potential customers should contact Stiebel Eltron directly to discuss the solution that’s right for them and to arrange installation through their nationwide network of installers.

Learn more about residential heating/cooling, hot water and ventilation system solutions.