Latest News
News and updates from Carbon Zero Consulting.
Intermediate Thermogeology Course: Ground Loop Design and Simulation
An application form can be obtained HERE
The course will primarily consider the design of vertical, borehole-based heat exchange systems (although we will touch on horizontal loops) and much of the day will be given over to solving practical exercises using spreadsheet-based algorithms and the professional design tool "Earth Energy Designer version 3", produced by Blocon of Lund, Sweden.
Professional Short Course: An Introduction to Ground Source Heating and Cooling
The course will run on Tuesday 13th October 2009 at Dunston Innovation Centre, Chesterfield. An application form can be obtained HERE
The course has been designed primarily for engineers, environmental and engineering geologists, hydrogeologists and architects who have maybe heard of "Ground Source Heat" and are aiming for better understanding and improved capacity in this exciting new area.
The course aims to familiarise participants with the concept of ground source heat. Although ground source heat pump systems require an integrated understanding of many different disciplines, this course will focus on the concept of heat pump technology and the use of the geological environment as a heat reservoir.
Thermal Plume Modelling
No heating, no hot water – Carbon Zero Consulting saves the day
Carbon Zero Consulting recently helped out a desperate client who had no heating or hot water, a distinct problem given the recent spell of cold and snowy weather.
A ground source heating project, carried out by an inexperienced installer, had gone wrong because they lacked the necessary design skills required of such a task.
Carbon Zero Consulting stepped in to solve the problems – quickly and efficiently. Now the client is enjoying warmth and hot water from his heat pump installation.
John Findlay, director of Carbon Zero Consulting said, 'The client came to us at the end of his tether about the poor heat output of his installation – and that’s something we see all too often as people climb on to the renewable energy bandwagon without the right expertise and experience'.
Carbon Zero Consulting used ‘Ground Loop Designer’ model to confirm that the length and layout of the ground source already installed was sufficient to provide the necessary energy to the heat pump. However, the methods used by the original installer to fill and connect the ground source to the plant room were entirely wrong! Re-design and installation of a bespoke flow manifold has balanced the flows around the ground loops to ensure the heat pump can now perform as it should.
Our primary area of expertise is ground-source heating and cooling (GSHC) although we pride ourselves on identifying and implementing integrated Renewable Energy solutions utilising UK-leading thermogeology expertise.
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’.