Baxi, a company that creates efficient heating and hot water solutions, has helped Crest Nicholson achieve its target of generating five per cent of the site's energy from low carbon products at its ICON development in Street, Somerset, through its Baxi Solarflo solar thermal domestic hot water system.

The ICON development comprises 80 houses and 58 apartments designed to reach the very highest energy efficiency and sustainability standards using the latest low carbon solutions. The properties with solar thermal domestic hot water systems have Baxi Solarflo flat plate collector panels, either incorporated into the roof or on A-frames on flat roofs. They also have Heatrae Sadia Megatech twin coil hot water storage cylinders and solar controllers. Supplementary heating and hot water is provided by the Potterton Promax SL; with a SEDBUK efficiency of up to 91.3 per cent, this slim line boiler is one of the most efficient boilers available on the market and has ultra-low NOx emissions.

Neil Burrow, Baxi Group Applications Manager - Renewables, said: "Baxi Group's in-house design service NewDesign calculated the optimum location and orientation of the solar panels to ensure maximum solar gain so that the five per cent renewable energy target would be comfortably reached." Gina Argent, Crest Nicholson Sales Manager, said: "We are pleased to be working with companies such as Baxi to make this development a reality. We are encouraging people to come and find out more about the benefits of living on an eco-development, which will not only help create a low carbon lifestyle but can also help with practical cost savings." Baxi Solarflo will provide up to 100 per cent of the household's hot water requirement in the summer, and 50-60 per cent annually. In addition, significant savings can be made on fuel bills, and carbon dioxide emissions reduced by up to half a tonne, reveals the company’s press release.