DROUGHT
Posted by Carbon Zero Consulting on 10/0611 at 01:58 PM
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The Environment Agency today announced that East Anglia and other parts of England are in drought or 'near drought'. What does this mean for operation and efficiency of Ground Source systems? In short - very little! Open loop systems are predominantly non-consumptive i.e they operate by pumping groundwater from one borehole and injecting back into another via a heat exchanger. All that changes is the groundwater temperature. As such open loop systems are NOT at risk in terms of efficiency or Environment Agency intervention Closed loop borehole systems will not be affected at all. Closed loop horizontal (e.g slinky) systems would potentially be affected if the drought extended into the next heating system as dry soil is less thermally efficient than wet soil. However - if you are using a horizontal system for cooling this summer, efficiency will be reduced. A pond or lake loop could potentially be seriously affected if the water level in the lake, pond or spring was significantly lowered. If drought continues into autumn/winter then we will certainly comment further. Also see our website http://www.envireauwater.co.uk for regular water resource updates.