Located in the heart of the Cotswolds, this working farm offers more than meets the eye. In the perfect location for exploring the natural beauty of the Cotswold countryside, the farm doubles as a holiday let with five Airbnb properties available to book. With guests staying throughout the year, keeping each property warm and comfortable is an essential part of the business, especially during the colder months when visitors expect heating and hot water to be available as soon as they arrive. And with multiple outlets being run at once, the owners quickly realised that water systems behind holiday lets need to be robust and able to handle a high demand from guests.
Alongside managing the guest properties, the owners also run the working farm full-time, making a dependable heating system essential. And, as is typical for the rural location, without access to mains gas, the farm had relied on oil heating for years.
The owners explained that reliability is one of the most important parts of running holiday homes, and if the heating fails while guests are staying at the property, it can quickly lead to complaints, refunds and poor reviews, creating a frustrating experience for everyone involved. As they are running five Airbnbs alongside the farm, they needed a system they could rely on. However, for one of the larger properties on the site, a three-bedroom, three-bathroom cottage, the existing oil boiler was no longer meeting the needs of the property.
Once the owners recognised that their current system was outdated and unable to keep up with demand, they went through the proper process of gathering recommendations and quotes, and Navien came up as a strong option. After looking into the company and learning about its reputation for reliability, ease of use and capabilities with high-demand retrofit applications, the decision to go with Navien was a straightforward one.
The PEM750 17kW heat pump stood out as the right fit for the three-bedroom cottage, as it offered the output needed to maintain reliable heating and hot water across all three bathrooms. When selecting a system, the owners were offered a variety of suggestions to meet the requirements of the property, including cascading multiple heat pumps.
A smooth transition
The Navien 17kW heat pump was installed outside the cottage, where there was plenty of space and no risk of interfering with the running of the farm or the guest experience. Despite the age and type of property, the installation process went smoothly and was completed without disruption to the guests staying elsewhere on site.
The owners shared that keeping the installation straightforward was important to them and fortunately, the clean setup and simple design of the system made the transition from oil heating much easier than expected. Since the installation, the heat pump has provided consistent heating and hot water throughout the property, particularly during busy changeover days when it needs to be brought back up to temperature quickly before new guests arrive.
The system can also be monitored remotely, via the Navien Heat Pump app, allowing the owners to keep an eye on performance while working elsewhere on the farm or managing the other Airbnb properties. For a business spread across several buildings, that level of control has become a real advantage day-to-day and also allows for adjustment when there aren’t any holiday lets.
Operational confidence
Expertly tailored for retrofit projects, the PEM750 heat pump combines aesthetic design and performance with intuitive controls. Designed with installers and end users in mind, it offers a strong 7-year parts and labour warranty and is straightforward to install and maintain. For enhanced usability, the system can be monitored via the Navien Heat Pump app, which not only enables remote control for end users, but also allows installers to identify and resolve any issues remotely, improving efficiency and reducing the need for call outs.
Installation is simplified by housing all critical components within the unit, which allows for easier wiring and faster set-up, perfect for users who need reduced downtime due to hosting holiday guests. The PEM750 is highly versatile, and the heat pump can also be configured with a wide range of parameters, suitable for both open-loop and zone systems.
Uninterrupted comfort
Once installed, the owners shared that the Navien heat pump has delivered exactly what they needed from a heating system and are extremely satisfied with the output. The property heats up quickly, the hot water remains consistent across all three bathrooms, and the system has given them no reason to have doubts or worries about the heating capabilities.
Their guest feedback has also stayed positive, with subsequent reviews mentioning how warm and comfortable the property feels during their stay. For the owners this has had a direct impact on the business, helping them to secure repeat bookings while reducing the stress that comes with managing multiple holiday properties.
Designed for high-demand properties, the Navien PEM750 17kW heat pump provides reliable heating performance alongside remote control functionality, making it well-suited to busy homes and commercial-style accommodation.
For rural properties looking to move away from traditional oil heating, this Cotswold farm demonstrates how a modern heat pump system can deliver both reliability and performance, without compromising comfort. By upgrading to the Navien PEM750 heat pump, the owners have been able to future-proof their heating systems, improve day-to-day site operations and provide guests with a consistently warm and comfortable stay year-round.
