Danfoss ground source heat pumps helps Woolsery Sports & Community Centre reduce its heating bills by 60 per cent

(18/07/2008)

Woolsery Sports & Community Centre was built in 2000 in Woolfardisworthy, which is an isolated rural parish in North Devon, with substantial funding from the Sports Lottery, after demonstrating the innovative and ecological design of the proposed building. Initially, an oil based heating system was installed partly because of the low price of oil at the time and also because of a lack of awareness of the benefits of heat pump technology.

Danfoss Heat Pumps, formerly ECO Heat Pumps, recently helped Woolsery Sports & Community Centre in Devon to reduce its heating bills by over 60 per cent, following installation of ground source heat pumps.

Prior to fitting the heat pump, the cost of running the centre with an oil based system had been £11 a day. Following installation, this was cut to just £4 a day which represents a saving of nearly £2,500 over the year.

In addition to the heat pump, the upgrade also involved fitting wind turbines and PV solar panels on the roof. The electricity generated from this is used to drive the heat pump, making the heating system completely carbon neutral. However, because the heat pump only uses a minimal amount of electricity, the surplus is used for the lighting in the centre, with the majority then being fed into the National Grid.

Gale & Snowden, the architects of the project, which specialises in ecological developments incorporated a range of high performance products in the original design of the centre, including super-insulation, thermal mass floors and triple glazed timber windows.

A spokesman from the company explains: “We were looking at creating a building that had significantly less environmental impact through reduced carbon emissions and improved energy efficiency. The end result was a credit to the community who were involved in the overall design concept.”

Fitting the heat pumps in the refurbishment in 2007 was the final part of creating a modern highly sustainable building. To maximize the benefit from the heat pump, the centre incorporated under floor heating to all the rooms.

Brian Butler, the estate manager at the centre, explains: “We are highly delighted with the heat pump and have been amazed by the savings. The heat pump was the only part of the insulative and heating areas of building that was upgraded last year, so it gave us the exact savings versus the oil based system. With oil prices rising dramatically in recent months, we are delighted that we are no longer dependent on fossil fuels and can control our costs much better.”

Although the initial cost of a heat pump is higher than for conventional heating, there is help available for public sector and charitable organizations in the form of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme phase 2. The Woolsery centre took the route of applying for a grant under this scheme and received up to 35 per cent towards the total installation costs. A change in the programme from April 2008 means that similar developments may now receive up to 50 per cent towards the total costs.

Sally Moore, Managing Director of Danfoss Heat Pumps, explains: “Heat pumps are four times as efficient as a conventional gas boiler – so it is no wonder that the running costs on this project were so drastically reduced. Many organizations view heat pumps as investing in the future of their buildings, giving them a low maintenance, sustainable supply of heating that improves their energy rating and is therefore much lower cost to run!”

Related categories:  Commercial and offices applications   Energy Conservation   Heat pumps   Solar heating 

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