Energy efficiency
Innovative school heating system harnesses heat from thermal spring
A primary school and bowls pavilion in a South Wales village have switched to clean, renewable heating, but in an innovative way that cannot be replicated anywhere else in Wales
F
fynnon Taf Primary School and the Pavilion at Taff’s Well Bowling Club in Taff’s Well, Wales, have had a bold new heating system
installed by Kensa, the UK-based ground source heat pump specialists, that uses naturally occurring heat from the only thermal spring in Wales – the historic Taff’s Well Spring. This water source heat pump system harnesses
natural heat from the warm spring water, which emerges from deep beneath the earth at around 21o C, to provide the two council-owned properties with low-carbon heating and hot water. Using the innovative clean heating method instead of gas is expected to cut the school and pavilion’s carbon emissions linked to heating by close to 80%. It also demonstrated a way of using Kensa’s ground source heat pumps without drilling vertical boreholes to access heat energy stored in the ground.
The bold idea of using the Taff’s Well thermal spring to heat buildings was initially proposed by the Friends of Taff’s Well community group, who were looking at other ways the historic spring could benefit the local community. This project follows other retrofit renewable heating installations completed in non-domestic buildings by Kensa. Using ground source heat pump
How the system works:
technology the manufacturer and solutions provider has futureproofed heating and lowered carbon emissions caused by heat in multiple UK schools and council properties. The unique installation also highlights the
versatility of Kensa’s ground source heat pump systems and forms part of Rhondda Cynon Taf Borough Council’s ambitious plans to decarbonise by 2030.
¡ Kensa’s ground source heat pumps, found in thousands of UK properties, are usually set up to source energy from the ground to provide heating and hot water. ¡ The one-of-a-kind installation at Taff’s Well pumps warm water from the spring and passes it through a nearby heat exchanger, which is connected to Kensa’s ground source heat pumps housed inside the school and pavilion. ¡ In this highly energy-efficient system, heat energy stored in the warm spring water is absorbed and converted by the heat pumps into usable energy for the school and pavilion’s heating and hot water systems. ¡ While in the system, the water is confined to its own pipework, mostly hidden under the ground and out of sight, and doesn’t encounter any other substances to ensure there’s no issue of contamination or pollution.
www.heatingandventilating.net
18 October 2024
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