Wyke College harnesses ground energy from boreholes to cool and heat new £20m building development
An advanced ground source heat pump system that harnesses free energy from boreholes sunk beneath a rugby pitch is providing low cost, low carbon energy to heat and cool Wyke College.
The green initiative is part of a £20m development at the Hull-based sixth form college, culminating in the construction of a state-of-the-art new wing, the Oak Building.
The pioneering ground source heat pump system uses 50 boreholes, each 112m deep, sunk into the college’s playing fields. It provides perfect all-year-round indoor comfort conditions for students using the new college facilities, which include a library, theatre, sports hall, recording studio and lecture rooms.
A low carbon strategy for the building was developed by consultant Beverley Clifton Morris, using detailed Dynamic Simulation option appraisals. The solution selected has ground source heat pumps at the heart of the building’s services.
The heat pump system was designed and installed by Ecovision Systems Ltd, working with Neville Tucker Heating Ltd. More than one km of HDPE ground pipe work required for the project was supplied by Pipe Center. The main contractor was Hobson and Porter.
The project had to take account of the unique thermal conductivity and properties of the rock and soil at the site.
Out of this came the design specification for the heat pump system, which determined the number and depth of boreholes required.
Most of the energy needed to heat and cool the building will be provided by the boreholes and heat pump system – even in the depths of the harshest winter and hottest summer.Some 75 per cent of total energy required comes from the ground, with the remaining 25 per cent being contributed by electricity used to drive the four Glen Dimplex heat pumps.
The 50 boreholes, each spaced 10m apart, are arranged in an array about the size of a rugby pitch and took between one and two days each to drill.
Each borehole has a 40mm diam HDPE input and return pipe, joined with a fusion-bonded u-bend connecting flow and return at the base. The head of each borehole is linked to its neighbour by 75mm HDPE pipe set into a sub-surface trench.
Finally, flow and return for the entire array to the plant room is laid in larger-still - 180mm - HDPE pipe.
The boreholes are used in three ways:
- to supply energy for upgrading by the heat pumps for heating the building;
- to provide “free cooling” via an under-floor system, with heat from the building being transferred back into the ground during summer;
- and as an energy source to drive reversible heat pumps to provide refrigerant-based cooling via air handling units.
The normal temperature of the ground 100m beneath the surface is a steady 10ºC throughout the year. As a result of the boreholes and operation of the heat transfer system, this can fall to as low as -1ºC in winter, as a result of the removal of energy for heating the building.
In summer, energy is returned to the ground as the free cooling potential is tapped, with temperatures below ground rising at the end of the season to as high as 20ºC.
The ground pipe work is designed as a closed-loop system. It contains 5000 litres of glycol solution, which is passed through a brazed plate heat exchanger to extract and receive energy from the building. A 3kW pump on each heat pump keeps the loop circulating.
The entire heating and cooling system is under the control of a sophisticated Building Management System (BMS) that constantly monitors and ensures optimum use of energy sources at all times.
Ecovision’s technical manager, Mark Witzenberger, who designed the system, said: “It is a superb installation and a great example of what can be achieved. The savings over the lifetime of the building will be substantial. With the cost of energy rising all the time, the investment will pay for itself many times over.”
He added: “The service we have received from Pipe Center in the project has been excellent. They are a key supplier and we work with them on many projects now underway across the country.”
“People are waking up to the fact that natural energy sources can be harnessed to provide much of the needs of our buildings. Heat pumps have been around for some time, but their full potential is only now being realised.
“All it takes is a little imagination and a willingness to invest, and projects can pay for themselves quickly – with savings accruing over the lifetime of the building. We believe it is the future for heating and cooling buildings.”