Daikin at the Heating Heart of Sea Gardens, Bray’s Stunning New Coastal Neighbourhood

The seaside town of Bray, Co. Wicklow, has a new neighbourhood. Sea Gardens is a residential development offering world-class amenities including pathways to nature, transport connections and facilities designed to make residents feel right at home.

Underpinning the design of this contemporary new development is a strong focus on sustainability. Sea Gardens is a true twenty-first century coastal community, including the highest standards of sustainable living.

“We have a really strong sustainability vision that has been applied to Sea Gardens, just as it is to all our projects,” says Charlie Conlan, part of the Sustainability team with Ballymore, the developer behind this exciting new project.

“With Sea Gardens, we are going for HPI certification which is the gold standard for sustainability in residential developments,” Charlie says. “HPI looks at a whole range of measures such as cost-effectiveness, healthy living conditions and environmental stewardship.”

Sustainability is a major part of the luxury homes that make up Sea Gardens, which are all A-rated, insulated to a superior standard and equipped with a range of features to facilitate a more sustainable lifestyle.

Daikin Altherma 3 air-to-water heat pumps

These include Daikin Altherma 3 air-to-water heat pumps; one of the most popular models in Daikin’s award-winning heating range and widely acknowledged as a cut above the rest.

“From our perspective, the Daikin units would definitely be among the best heat pumps on the market,” says Johnny Ginnitty, Contract Manager with Gaffney Mechanical, one of Ireland’s leading heating and plumbing specialists, which is responsible for installing all the heat pumps in Sea Gardens.

“The Altherma 3 models are easy to install, especially with all the plumbing connections off the top,” Johnny adds. “Once installed, there’s very little for the homeowner to do so they’re also easy to operate, and they’re easy to maintain as well.”

As a Daikin Service Partner, Gaffney Mechanical is one of the most experienced heat pump installers in Ireland. The company works closely with property developer Ballymore, which selected Daikin premium heat pumps for the new development.

“Daikin has been the most reliable heat pump we’ve had on any of our jobs,” says Ballymore’s Charlie Conlan. “In terms of robustness, ease of use, ease of operation and overall reliability, they are an easy choice for us. They also comply with the strict requirements for the HPI certificate which was an important consideration.

“With the Altherma 3 units, there’s not a lot of scope for the user to mismanage the system which is very important – the simpler the better,” Charlie says. “They also come with a very good [Onecta] app that gives users remote access to the heating system which is a level of user-friendliness that not a lot of heat pumps have.”

The houses in Sea Gardens have been fitted with a mixture of 4kW (180 litre hot water cylinder) and 6kW (230 litre cylinder) Daikin heat pumps. These units offer unrivalled energy-efficiency, using mostly renewable energy (outside air), and are designed to deliver steady, consistent comfort, all year round – no turning the heat on and off; no need to chase extra heat during the colder months.

“One of our biggest tips for new heat pump customers is to leave the unit well alone,” says Johnny Ginnitty of Gaffney Mechanical. “The beauty of heat pumps is that they work away quietly in the background and keep the house cosy and comfortable without the homeowner needing to do anything.”

The selection of Daikin heat pumps for a development aspiring to the highest possible standards of sustainability underlines the premium quality of Daikin’s heating and cooling products, which are built in Europe for European – and Irish – conditions. 

“We’re very proud that Ballymore has chosen Daikin heat pump technology for the houses in Sea Gardens,” says April McHale, Strategic Planning and Operations Manager with Daikin Ireland.

“This stunning new neighbourhood can serve as a signpost for the way Ireland needs to go in terms of residential energy efficiency and carbon reduction,” April says. “Our heat pumps can play an important role in offering a more sustainable way of life, both to the residents here in Sea Gardens and to homeowners right around Ireland”.

“Sea Gardens is just a lovely place to live and I think a lot of families are going to be warm, cosy and very happy here for many years to come.”