Sovereign House in St Leonards on Sea recently underwent a complete renovation, incorporating air source heat pumps for low maintenance, efficient heating throughout the property.

A grand Victorian property that served as a private hospital before passing to the NHS in 1948, Sovereign House sits atop West Hill Road in the town of St Leonards on Sea, open to the cooling sea breeze of the West Sussex coast. Owner Anna Sabin purchased the property in 2019, transforming what used to be Eversfield Chest Hospital into a five-bedroom residential dwelling that looks out unimpeded across the English Channel.

The elegant property - which covers 3,500 square feet over four floors - offers magnificent 13-foot high ceilings, meaning heating the individual rooms would be a costly - and inefficient - exercise for residential purposes. 

“We bought a big Victorian era house two years ago with a gas boiler, single glazing and rattling windows,” said Anna. When it came to heating, “it was either freeze or wreck the planet, so the first step was to install double glazing and loft insulation.”

Understanding the environmental and cost benefits of air source heat pumps over gas burners, Anna would spend nearly 18 months researching suitable contractors that could offer the perfect solution.

“We looked and talked to a number of potential contractors before finding Solaris Energy, who were confident and competent enough to install our air source heat pumps.”

The installation of two Valiant aroTHERM plus 10kw air source heat pumps, alongside a 200-litre buffer vessel and 300-litre joule cyclone cylinder, ensures that Sovereign House is efficiently heated throughout.

As one of the leading next-generation air-to-water heating pumps available, the Valiant aroTHERM embraces innovative monobloc technology to provide a low Global Warming Potential (GWP). It also has low energy consumption performance, with the Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) figure an impressive 4.88. Designed to be installed in properties located within 150 metres of the sea, this intelligent solution provides quiet operation and is ideal for underfloor heating and radiators.

“We would definitely recommend Solaris Energy - they were one of the few who’d do more than just talk about taking our money and installation. And the benefits of their work include constant comfort from the floor-up warmth from the magic boxes in the garden!”