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News and updates from Carbon Zero Consulting.
Major ‘Open Loop’ ground source success to provide heating and cooling to a large new college
Carbon Zero Consulting (CZC) has been working with their client Cool Planet Technologies Ltd to install an open loop ground source system at a large new college in Bedfordshire.
The site was originally planned to have a very large closed-loop borehole array. However, CZC utilized its sector-leading knowledge of UK hydrogeology to provide a positive open loop viability assessment for the site. CZC Director John Findlay said ‘We have been drilling and testing water supply boreholes in the UK for more years than we care to remember. The technology that is so familiar to us is directly applicable to the growing demand for open-loop systems. In the right conditions these systems can provide heat and cool for very large commercial and public buildings'.
In terms of advantages of open loop over closed loop at these sites, John Findlay says ‘the drilling and installation cost was significantly lower than the equivalent costs for a closed loop array. This is not always the case as open-loop requires several conditions to be met, including of course a productive aquifer. We have all the expertise necessary to identify these opportunities’.
Steve Gray, MD of Cool Planet Technologies Ltd commented that ‘our client is delighted with the cost savings and the efficiency with which the open loop system has been designed and installed at the college. Our delivery on site and strong partnership with CZC delivers to the client a bespoke turn key solution backed by a highly experienced team. We have found at this site and others that CZC’s understanding and expertise of open loop systems is unparalleled in the UK’.
With regard to Environment Agency input to open loop schemes, John Findlay goes on to comment, ‘we find that some people are put off developing an open loop system by lack of understanding of the Environment Agency licensing system. Developers should know that provided the building schedule takes the drilling, testing and licensing timing into account at an early stage then the additional risks to the project are minimal’.