Supermarket chain makes air source heat pump deal

Vaillant has been awarded a five-year contract to provide its aroTHERM plus air source heat pumps to all new Aldi stores across the UK.

Depending on the size of the site, each store will see between two to five aroTHERM plus 12kW units installed, and to further ensure system efficiency, the sensoCOMFORT heating controls have also been specified.
 
Following installation, each of the aroTHERM plus heat pumps will be commissioned and serviced by Vaillant under the contract’s 10-year service agreement, to ensure the operational efficiency of each unit is maximised.

As part of the contract, the aroTHERM plus heat pump has also been installed at Aldi’s new eco-concept store in Leamington Spa, where the unit provides both heating and cooling. The store, which opened in September 2022, was designed to significantly reduce carbon consumption, with sustainable building materials and design changes which are estimated to reduce life-cycle emissions by up to two thirds.

“We’re always looking for new ways to minimise our carbon footprint while keeping prices as low as possible for our customers, and reducing our energy consumption helps us do both,” director of corporate responsibility at Aldi UK, Liz Fox said.

“All our stores already use 100% renewable electricity, as well as efficient lighting and refrigeration to reduce our impact on the environment. It’s great to see just how much energy the new measures we are introducing will save in stores across Wales.”
 
George Brown, national property director for Aldi UK, added: “Aldi UK has been carbon neutral since 2019, which has seen us transition to natural refrigerants. Recently, we invested in adding chiller doors to our new and refurbished stores, which will reduce each store’s energy consumption by approximately 20%. However, this meant we needed a sustainable heat source in our new sites to replace the existing heat-generating fridge packs. As a sustainable low-carbon option, the decision to specify Vaillant’s aroTHERM plus was made due to the natural refrigerant in the units.”