Register your interest

FAQs

General

What do I get out of this project?

If the Melbourn Energy Superloop receives enough interest to proceed, and you opt in for a new heating system, you can expect to get:

  • a brand new Kensa heat pump and hot water cylinder (installed with a £7,500 discount)
  • access to heat generated by the data centre (seamlessly connected to your heat pump system to run it even more efficiently) 
  • cheaper energy bills
  • optional ultra-fast fibre broadband internet connection with data rates up to 10 Gigabits per second.

Yes, anyone who lives in the village of Melbourn can express their interest in the project.

We expect the whole project — from community consultation through to final installation — to take around 1–2 years. So if you were to opt in, you could expect your heat pump to be installed in 2026 or later.

We’ll take note of your expression of interest and keep you in the loop with how the project progresses.

Yes, expressing your interest now does not lock you into the project. You can decide whether you’d like to opt in for a new heating system down the line.

No, there’s no obligation to switch energy providers.

Construction of Melbourn Energy Superloop involves building a small data centre, with a modest car parking area – the whole site likely taking up less than an acre. We will also need to create a network of underground pipes that transport warmed water from the data centre to local homes, businesses and community spaces. As an added bonus, we’ll run fibre optic cables for broadband in the same trenches as our pipes, which will offer the village blazing fast speeds and an alternative to Virgin and BT.

Costs & savings

How much do I save with a heat pump?

This depends on a lot of things: what kind of heating system you have now, how fast your home loses heat, how warm you like to be, how you control your heating, and what energy tariff you are on. But we can confidently say that a heat pump connected to the Melbourn Energy Loop would be significantly cheaper to run than a gas boiler. 

As part of the installation process, we will perform a home survey, which will give you a better idea of exactly how much you can save on your heating bills.

To take advantage of the community heat network, you’ll need a new heat pump and, oftentimes, a new hot water cylinder. This heating system will be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) which would take £7,500 off the installation cost. For a lot of homes, this will cover the entire cost of installation! 

Depending on your property, there may be additional costs that the BUS doesn’t cover — this could range from £0 to £5,000. We expect to be able to help you spread this cost so that you can join the network and start seeing savings straight away.

If you decide to get a new heating system through this project, we’ll apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) on your behalf and handle the payment as part of the process.

As soon as your heat pump is installed.

Home installation

What are the benefits of installing a heat pump?

Heat pumps are around five times more efficient than a gas boiler (even if it’s a new one). More importantly, there are no direct emissions from heating with a heat pump so not only are you saving money and carbon, the air quality inside your home and in the village will be improved.

Your water will be heated in a cylinder by your heat pump to around 65°C, which is more than hot enough to have a bath or shower. The cylinder is unvented so you will also get great hot water pressure.

Heat pumps work most efficiently low and slow, maintaining a comfortable temperature in your home rather than running in short bursts at a higher temperature, which is how a lot of gas boilers are set to run.

Typically, 25 years.

We expect it to take 2–3 days to install your new heat pump and hot water cylinder and connect you to the network. It will take longer if your installation is complex (for example, you want to make changes to your radiators).

We will never leave you overnight without hot water. We can bring portable heaters if it’s very cold outside during your installation.

In many cases, no. A lot of existing central heating systems are compatible with a heat pump meaning, nothing in the house needs to change to accommodate one. You’ll find out what the case is for your home during your heat pump survey.

Having a heat pump could make your home cheaper to heat and cool, and raise your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) (which indicates how energy efficient your home is). This should have a positive impact on the value of your home.

About the project

Why is this project happening in Melbourn?

Melbourn is perfectly situated for its own energy network as it has access to green energy generated by nearby solar farms and potential locations for a new data centre.

Melbourn isn’t the first location for a project like this though. Heat the Streets is a project in Cornwall which demonstrates how effective it can be to roll out heat pump technology at the community level.

Funds managed by Octopus Energy Generation — the tentacle of Octopus Energy Group dedicated to powering the future with green energy — will pay for the construction needed for the Melbourn Energy Loop.

  • Kensa: a ground source heat pump developer 
  • Deep Green: a data centre and heat recovery developer 
  • Eclipse Power: a grid and direct electricity wire expert
  • aql: a fibre connectivity provider and operator 
  • Lanpro: a planning consultant
  • Wind2: a project manager
  • AECOM: a technical advisor