Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
NOVEMBER 2013
Volume 10 No. 7
The hidden
fuel
29
Space heating
47
Focusing on
energy control
I
t was about five years ago even possible that more heat might
that Mike Spenser-Morris, be extracted from the ground, but
managing director of NHP the effect should be small. Because
Leisure Developments, the temperature of the water in the
became aware of the potential of pipe is about the same as the
heat pumps for community surrounding ground, the main
heating in apartment blocks. He pipework does not need to be
decided to look more closely at insulated. These pipework runs are
this technology as an alternative plastic — MDP underground and
to the combination of gas-fired ABS above ground.
CHP and biomass that was then The low temperature of the
being considered for the primary pipework will also not
Kingston Heights and River Walk contribute to internal heat gains, a
development of residential concern of the latest Part L which
apartments at Kingston upon comes into effect in April 2014.
Thames. Primary water is drawn from the
The image that set the project
His enthusiasm was prompted by water at about 9 or 10°C is piped to River Thames at up to 150 l/s. At the
rolling, with the River Thames very
the computer -generated images local plant rooms with Mitsubishi apparent in the background. depth of abstraction, the
produced to promote the heat pumps in them. That temperature is a steady 9°C, with
development, which clearly showed circulating water is the energy return water about 3 K cooler. The
the River Thames in the background source for the heat pumps and water is piped to a nearby plant
(adjacent photo). returns at a lower temperature — The kit used room, where plate heat exchangers
about 3 K lower. There are 41 heat
The development includes 56
homes in Kingston Heights for pumps with a heat output of about
throughout the provide the interface with flow and
return pipework to the building. The
Affinity Sutton, a national provider 30 kW each. project is quite river-water circuit is thus open, and
of affordable housing, and 81 luxury The next stage resembles a VRF the circuit to the building is closed.
private apartments known as River air-conditioning/heating system in standard — from the Ultimately, the system will generate
Walk provided by Redrow London. that hot refrigerant gas is sent to a around 2.3 MW of heat.
Mike Spenser-Morris had picked ‘heat-pump boiler’ in each heat pumps to the It should be evident that water is
up some knowledge about water- apartment. That ‘boiler’ then heats heat-pump boilers, not actually extracted from the river,
source heat pumps, and decided water for underfloor heating used for a process and then
that the River Thames, which is not systems and a hot-water cylinder, the inverter- returned. That perception, however,
tidal at this point, would be an ideal which has the support of an electric was not available to the
source of heat. Discussions with immersion heater. Water comes off controlled primary Environment Agency, which had to
consulting engineer Chris White, the boiler at about 45°C. Every room
in an apartment has its own
and secondary consider the application for an
managing director of White extraction licence.
Associates, confirmed that the thermostat. pumps, and the plate That was when Ed Davey,
approach would be technically and And lest refrigerant circulating in Secretary of State at the
economically feasible and cost little a building sets off your personal heat exchangers Department for Energy & Climate
more than gas-fired CHP and alarms, there is no need for Change, became involved. He is MP
biomass system. refrigerant leak detection because for the neighbouring constituency,
One of the key problems was to the quantity in any particular circuit Two plate heat exchangers provide the boundary of which is a couple of
find a similar installation is small and there is no refrigerant the interface between the River hundred yards away across the
elsewhere, for no-one really wants pipework in bedrooms. Thames and the main water- railway line to Waterloo Station in
The kit used throughout the distribution pipework.
to be a pioneer for such a project. London. Ed Davey was intrigued by
There wasn’t one in this country, project is quite standard — from the the project, as was evident when the
nor was there one in Europe. heat pumps to the heat-pump installation was officially turned on
Eventually, one was found in Japan boilers, the inverter-controlled in October.
— which was duly visited, providing primary and secondary pumps, and Mike Spenser-Morris went to one
the confidence to go ahead at the plate heat exchangers. of Ed Davey’s surgeries and
Kingston Because the main underground convinced him that the nature of
But where this community/ distribution pipework transports this project was potentially of huge
district-heating system differs from water at a temperature comparable significance on a national scale.
most other systems is that there with the ground, there are no Levers were obviously pulled in the
are no hot-water mains. concerns about heat loss, as there right places, and, presumably
What happens instead is that would be with hot water. Indeed, it is lessons learned for the future.