Heating system in Mayfield flats is ‘completely useless’, councillor claims

Social housing tenants in two flat complexes are spending “a fortune” heating their homes because the heating system installed by Cork City Council is “completely useless”, a local councillor has claimed.

Workers’ Party councillor Ted Tynan has called on the council to replace an air-to-air heat pump system it installed in Árd Bhaile and Glenamoy Lawn in Mayfield almost a decade ago.

“City council is well aware of the plight that the people of Glenamoy Lawn and Árd Bhaile are going through on a daily basis, particularly in the cold weather,” the North East Ward councillor said.

“This so-called heating system is not effective, it’s not working, it’s completely useless.

“I am calling on Cork City Council to replace this system with air-to-water heat pumps, like they have installed all over the city.”

There are 157 homes in Árd Bhaile, and 109 in Glenamoy Lawn.

The air-to-air system, which Mr Tynan said was installed in 2016 and 2017, was the third heating system introduced in the estates, after the original hot air system, which was built in the 1970s, was replaced with a hot water system.

That system was very effective, Mr Tynan said, as it supplied hot water to radiator heaters, as well as providing hot water for domestic use.

The air-to-air heat pump does not heat residences’ domestic water supply, leaving tenants reliant instead on electric immersion systems to heat water for domestic use.

“The air-to-air system has proven to be ineffective and entirely inappropriate for the residences that it has been installed in, and it has forced residents to rely instead on out-dated and expensive heating systems to heat their homes.

“I know some residents who are spending a fortune on electric heaters, and some people are using Superser heaters with bottled gas, and kerosene heaters, which are very energy-inefficient, costly to run, and in some cases, unsafe,” Mr Tynan said.

One Árd Bhaile resident, Norma Hennessy, said using an electric heater in her home was costing her €90 a week.

“That air-to-air system is not heating the house, it’s doing everything the opposite of what it should do, it’s drying all the air out, it’s stinging the eyes out of my head, it’s costing me too much money, I’m an old age pensioner and €90 a week is too much for me.”

In a motion calling on Cork City Council to install air-to-water heating in Árd Bhaile and Glenamoy Lawn, Mr Tynan described the air-to-air heat pump system as “a disaster” for residents, claiming that it had left them depending on “costly, inefficient and dangerous alternatives to heat their homes, which has led to poor health and respiratory illness amongst residents”.

Responding to Mr Tynan, Niall Ó Donnabháin, Cork City Council’s director of services for housing operations, said the air-to-air heating systems in Glenamoy Lawn and Árd Bhaile were installed as part of an SEAI Better Energy Communities scheme.

“The scheme improved the energy rating of the homes and resulted in the installation of a renewable energy heating system using air-to-air technology. This system replaced the very ineffective and costly gas-fired district heating system that provided heat to the complex previously,” Mr Ó Donnabháin said.

“Cork City Council has engaged the services of the local agent for the existing heat pump system to investigate any current issues and address them accordingly.”