Ground Up Magazine

issue 3 EGSHPA

Ground Up magazine European Ground Source Heat Pump Association

EGSHPA European Ground Source Heat Pump Association

Home is where the heat is The advantages of turning to a UK-based manufacturer when investing in renewable technologies such as ground source heat pumps

Race against time Geothermal holes in less than three hours, maybe it should be an Olympic event?

Brownfield reclamation

Large Scale Geothermal Heat Pump System intelligent controls and a shift in design mindset Ground Up magazine 5.99₏

An invitation to the ground source heat pump community 5

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Welcome W

elcome to the third issue of Ground Up magazine and Happy New Year!

This issue is packed with fantastic articles. We dispel the myths

European Ground Source Heat Pump Association Argyle House Dee Road Richmond Surrey TW9 2JN Not for Profit Company Limited by Guarantee, Registered in England & Wales, Company No. 7689830 Homepage: www.egshpa.com

associated with ground source heat pumps and take a look at what makes a winning combination in this competitive market from the team at Ground Heat. We also take an in depth look at an installation at the National Maritime Museum.

So enjoy this issue of Ground Up magazine and have a fantastic start to 2012. Please email us at membership@egshpa.com if you have any submissions you would like to see featured in our next issue.

This month we would like to thank the following members for their

Contact Us: Membership@egshpa.com Advertising and Editorial enquiries: info@egshpa.com

The Team Adrian Bridgwater Head of Social Media & Editor-in-Chief adrian@egshpa.com or Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/EGSHPA

Contribution:

Paul Kilby Editor

Stephen Hamstra, P.E., LEED AP, ASHRAE HBDP, Certified GeoExchange Designer Chief Technology Officer

Dale Holdback - BEng AMIMechE Technical and Industry Knowledge dale.holdback@egshpa.com

Paul Nathanail Professor of Engineering Geology University of Nottingham Greensleeves LLC 1995 Tiffin Avenue, Suite 312 Findlay, OH 45840 Phone: (419) 420-1515 Fax: (419) 420-1513 Engineered Systems magazine 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700 Troy, MI 48084

Richard Layton - BA ACA Head of Finance richard.layton@egshpa.com Nathan Berkley Head of Media and Marketing membership@egshpa.com Disclaimer Ground Up is a trademark and may not be used or reproduced without the prior written consent of EGSHPA. Ground Up is published in the UK by EHGSPA and is sold subject to the following terms: namely that it shall not without the written consent of the Publishers be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of Trade at more than the recommended selling price shown on the cover and that it shall not be lent, resold or hired out in a mutilated condition or in any unauthorised cover by way of Trade of affixed to or as part of any publication or advertising literary or pictorial matter whatsoever.

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Contents HOME IS WHERE THE HEAT IS page

6-7

Martyn Bridges, director of marketing and technical support at Worcester, Bosch Group, explains the advantages of turning to a UK-based manufacturer when investing in renewable technologies such as ground source heat pumps

GROUND LOOPS page

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ESI talk us through planning early for Ground Source energy schemes

BROWNFIELD RECLAMATION page

10-12

An invitation to the ground source heat pump community to engage with Brownfield practitioners involved in remediation of soil or groundwater to enhance the efficiency of both energy exchange and remediation

BRIGHT STAR page

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Insight from Ground Heat, a UK based award winning team

RACE AGAINST TIME page

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Geothermal holes in less than 3 hours, maybe it should be an Olympic event

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RENOWNED ARTIST SCULPTS ENERGY EFFICIENT FUTURE page

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Renewable Solution Provided: reliable, cost-effective heating and hot water solution for off-gas property in remote area

LARGE SCALE GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP SYSTEM page

22-24

intelligent controls and a shift in design mindset

RESIDENTIAL GEOTHERMAL A SIGN OF THE TIMES page

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Insight from Sonic Drill Corporation

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK page

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GreenACT talk about the appeal of the industry as a new business venture

CASE STUDY page

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A ÂŁ35 million refurbishment at the National Maritime Museum

A WORD FROM OUR FRIENDS OVER THE POND

page

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The National Ground Water Association to Develop a Loop Well Standard

FIT FOR A KING page

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The use of a moat for heat pump installation

FIND A PRO page

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Home is where the heat is S

ince the announcement of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Premium Payment Scheme the profile of technologies which qualify for the scheme has increased, as has the number of manufacturers offering the technologies to the UK homeowner. Here, Martyn Bridges, director of marketing and technical support at Worcester, Bosch Group, explains the advantages of turning to a UK-based manufacturer when investing inrenewable technologies such as ground source heat pumps. “The RHI announcement has undoubtedly increased the profile of renewable heating technologies in the UK market. However it is accepted within the industry that we remain some way behind many of our European counterparts, who have been taking advantage of the benefits of renewable technologies for a number of years now. The ground source heat pump is one such technology, which has been popular in Scandinavia, in particular, for a few years. As a result, a number of manufacturers from across Europe and beyond have introduced products into the UK market with the intention of taking advantage of a market invigorated by the RHI. Homeowners have a plethora of options available to them in today’s market. Whilst the range of products on offer may be greater than ever and costs lower than they have been in the past, homeowners must be mindful of the suitability of each individual product for their home. The research and development department at Worcester spends years developing a product for the UK market, so we are well aware that whilst a product may work exceptionally well in heating systems in countries abroad, a range of factors may prevent it from having the same impact here in the UK.

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I cannot stress enough the advantages of selecting a product which has been fully prepared for application in the UK market. Worcester’s Greenstore ground source heat pumps are fully approved to meet the legal requirements of the G3 building regulations and have a proven track record of successfully operating in many thousands of UK homes.

requirements of legislation make them well-placed to offer the ideal solution for the UK homeowner looking to invest in renewable technology.�

The UK consumer can be forgiven for accepting a reliance on imported products as we do this in so many other aspects of our lives, however there are greater benefits associated with buying domesticallymanufactured products. The reassurance that the product has been developed specifically for its target market means that the homeowner will be able to reap the benefits of a package which can be tailored to their individual needs. In terms of ground source heat pump technology, this transpires as improved efficiency and compatibility with legislation within the heating industry.

The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) was introduced to the industry in the UK last year and offers an over-arching system to categorise products, installers and manufacturers deemed suitable to provide renewable energy solutions to UK homes. Naturally, UK manufacturers are required to have a close association with this scheme, which means that the products they produce are geared towards meeting its requirements, therefore safeguarding the interests of the homeowner.

Undoubtedly, there are manufacturers across the globe offering products to enhance the way consumers access renewable energy, however the strength of product development in the UK should not be underestimated.

The knowledge UK-based manufacturers have of their consumers, the infrastructure of UK properties and of the

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ESI: Ensuring ground loops deliver energy needs

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SI is a leading consultancy for Ground Source Energy, including training and software support solutions. It has a proven track record of successfully delivering comprehensive projects across the UK and Italy, with a technical understanding of the issues faced in both open and closed loop ground source heating and cooling systems. ESI is the ideal consultancy choice when considering Ground Source Energy as a low carbon and cost effective solution for heating and cooling.

• Feasibility Studies • Regulatory Approval • Open & Closed Loop Design • Borehole specification & Testing • Thermal Response Tests • Impact Assessment Modelling

Ground Source Energy Schemes should be designed at a Building’s Planning Stage ESI encourages building designers to address a building’s energy requirements at an early stage to ensure that the ground source solution is fully integrated with the building’s energy needs. A Ground Source Energy scheme that is treated as an afterthought will pose a real risk for the design not matching the eventual energy use of the building, will be less efficient and at worse could even fail to meet the buildings and client’s needs.

Feasibility studies and predictive modelling of the ground source will confirm the potential of the Ground Source Energy scheme as a long term solution and this can then be

The geology at the Tate Modern site comprises Made Ground, Drift and River Terrace Gravels overlying a substantial thickness of London Clay. To model the proposed open loop Ground Source Energy (GSE) scheme in the River Terrace Gravels, a single layer model was developed using FEFLOW hydrogeological finite element modelling software.

The model simulated groundwater flow in the River Terrace Gravels and overlying Alluvium and Made Ground and extended over an area approximately 2km by 1km, adjacent to the River Thames. A steady state model was first used to assess the maximum abstraction rates that might be achieved and the likely impact on local groundwater levels. It also assessed the sensitivity of the GSE scheme performance to the borehole locations and uncertain hydrogeological parameters. A transient model was used to investigate the feasibility of abstraction / injection at higher flow rates for limited periods of higher demand. The model was run to simulate a period of 24 hours, with increased abstraction.

The results indicated that it would be possible to double the abstraction rate relative to the designed flow for up to 12 hours without excessively dewatering the aquifer.

However, if abstraction was continued at this rate, it became unsustainable with an increased risk that the groundwater levels would fall too low to continue operation. It was concluded that the design represented the maximum sustainable flow rate for the boreholes, but that there was a degree of operating flexibility to meet short term peak energy demands.

On the basis of the modelling carried out the client went on to commission the initial pumping and injection test at the site.

The scheme is now being installed, and will make a renewable and efficient contribution to the building’s energy use.

developed into the detailed design when tenders are awarded.

Case Study

Contact Antonio Gennarini at ESI for Ground Source Energy design support.

Project: Modelling of open loop ground source energy design for Tate Modern

T: +44 (0)1743 276100

Client: Max Fordham – Consulting Engineers

E: info@esinternational.com

Summary: An open loop ground source heating/cooling scheme is being developed for the redevelopment of the Tate Modern, located close to the River Thames. ESI was instructed by Max Fordham to construct a FEFLOW groundwater flow model to support the design

W: www.esinternational.com

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Ground source heat pumps and Brownfield Reclamation C P Nathanail(1,2) and J F Nathanail(2) 1 University of Nottingham, UK paul@lqm.co.uk 2 Land Quality Management Ltd., UK

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his short article is an invitation to the ground source heat pump community to engage with brownfield practitioners involved in remediation of soil or groundwater to enhance the efficiency of both energy exchange and remediation.

Brownfield sites have been affected by former uses of the site or surrounding land; are derelict or underused; are mainly in fully or partly developed urban areas; may have real or perceived contamination problems; and require intervention to bring them back to beneficial use (CABERNET 2006; World Bank 2010).

Far from all brownfields are contaminated. However those that are contaminated and require remediation to ensure they are suitable for their intended use offer opportunities for ground source heat pump that can increase the economic attractiveness of GSHP solutions and contribute significantly to a positive evaluation of the sustainability of the overall reclamation. Process based remediation technologies (Nathanail et al. 2007) can create opportunities for GSHP to re-energise brownfield sites and greatly enhance the cost effectiveness of such solutions but only if remediation and re-energising are considered in a timely and integrated manner.

Table 1 Reusing brownfields – a stepwise approach

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Activity

Comment

Redefining the site

Brownfield sites are essential components in dynamic urban land management.

Changing land uses allow urban systems to develop and avoid stagnation.

Remediating unacceptable risks

Those brownfields that are contaminated require chemical, physical, biological or conventional engineering intervention to ensure they are suitable for their next use.

Reclaiming land

Brownfield often contain remnants of former land uses that need to be removed prior to the land being reused. Such remnants can include foundations, utilities, traffic infrastructure, unsuitable materials.

Re-energising the site

Brownfield have traditionally made use of conventional grid based energy supply or on site generation sources. Current attention on renewable energy sources gives brownfields advantages over previously undeveloped land.

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Groundwater in urban areas is often polluted with volatile organic compounds such as hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents. The way in which such groundwater is remediated may also allow energy exchange processes to take place. Pumpand-treat involves pumping groundwater out of the ground, treating it and then reinjecting the clean water back into the ground. Since the energy used to pump the groundwater is accounted for against the remediation process, it is ‘free’ to any energy exchange process that could exploit the energy storage capacity of the water. On a large scale this being carried out in the Netherlands where water is pumped to protect areas from inundation. On smaller scale industrial sites, pump and treat is seen as an expensive long term – quasi permanent – means of containing groundwater pollution. Existing pump and treat schemes may offer low cost quick win opportunities to demonstrate the benefits of GSHP on industrial sites.

Permeable reactive barriers (PRB) were developed in the 1990s as an alternative to pump and treat. Instead of pumping the groundwater out of the ground, a treatment zone is placed into the ground to intercept natural groundwater flow. Polluted groundwater flows through the treatment zone and emerges clean down gradient of the PRB. The residence time within the PRB is an important design consideration. Heat exchange infra structure can be installed immediately adjacent and downstream of the PRB at little extra cost – the bulk of the permitting and excavation expense is charged to the remediation works.

REFERENCES CABERNET (2006) Sustainable Brownfield regeneration. Millar K, Grimski D, Ferber U, Nathanail CP. (eds).

Land Quality Press: Nottingham. http:// www.cabernet.org.uk/ resourcefs/427.pdf.

Accessed 14 November 2011.

Nathanail, C.P. 2011.

Chapter 25: Sustainable Brownfield Regeneration.

In: F.A. Swartjes (ed.), Dealing with Contaminated Sites, Springer. pp 1079-1104

Nathanail, J.F., Bardos, P. and Nathanail, C.P. 2007. Contaminated Land Management Ready Reference, EPP & Land Quality Press: Nottingham, 2nd edition.

World Bank. 2010.

The management of brownfields redevelopment: A guidance note. World Bank Europe and Central Asia Region Sustainable Development Department.

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Contaminated soils are sometimes treated in situ or capped but most often are excavated for treatment or off site disposal. Where excavation is involved, the resulting void is usually backfilled with imported inert material to make up the site levels. However the expensively created void could be seen as an asset. In a GSHP context, the void could allow the installation of shallow GSHP infrastructure with the cost of excavation charged to the remediation.

The above discussion has shown how costs charged against remediation can be piggy-backed by GSHP solutions to enhance the overall sustainability of brownfield reuse and make GSHP more economically viable.

The CABERNET ABC model (CABERNET 2006) has been adopted by national regeneration agencies such as English Partnerships (now the Homes and Communities Agency) and international funds such as

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the European Bank of Regional Development JESSICA fund. A-sites are those whose reclamation costs are more than outweighed by the final land value and are therefore commercial viable. C-sites are those which are not economically viable as reclamation costs preclude profit. B-sites are marginally non viable and are usually seen as those sites where the public sector can create the conditions for the private sector to step in and complete the redevelopment process.

An integrated approach to remediation, reclamation and re-energising (Table 1) can change the economics of sites and push B-sites into A-sites and C-sites into B- or even A-sites. However this requires early consideration of the integrated land reuse strategy and a broader outlook than traditional linear, sequential thinking. Such ‘smart’ thinking can be a major contributor to both successful reuse of brownfields and greater take up of GSHP technologies.

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Ground Heat The 7-Year Fix A

s a company, Bolton UK based Ground Heat is an interesting proposition. The business was launched on the strength of 37 years experience within the heating industry. The firm likes to assert its professionalism as heating engineers in the renewable field by reminding customers that it has been installing heat pumps for over seven years, making it one of the more experienced installers of ground source heat pump technology in the UK. Earlier in 2011 the company was named as the Renewable Ground Source Pump Installer of the Year and awarded a cheque for ÂŁ10,000 as overall winners of the Renewable Awards. Technical Director Dave Thompson used the event to explain how he built a passion for heat pump technology which was not even in the vocabulary of the heating industry at the time he started digging into it.

He enhanced his knowledge by contacting manufacturers who funded visits to Sweden and Germany, where ground source heating is the norm. His knowledge was gained through experience of installing new technology creating innovative solutions to the many problems encountered during each individual installation.

As an accredited installer Worcester Bosch invited him to their factory to examine products and provide him with various heat pumps and cylinders to research performance in the company’s functioning plant room attached to a local hair salon. The salon had in fact won awards of its own, due in part to the innovative technologies designed and installed by Ground Heat.

In addition to ground source technology, the salon has been fitted with solar thermal and heat recovery systems for both heating and cooling which have since been installed in several other projects.

Lakes , moats and streams Thompson says his company has installed ground loops in lakes, moats and streams to extract heat including many vertical bore holes incorporating solar thermal to re load heat during summer and winter. The bores have been used for both passive and active cooling via under floor and blown air cooling. He is now designing and specifying larger sustainable projects which have thus far defeated architects and engineers.

Ground Heat carefully monitors each of the heat pumps that they install and provide a 24 hour service to their clients for the first two years after installation and beyond. Their engineers are recognised as the best in their field and any problem is treated as a challenge.

Welsh cottage wind wonder So to take one example from Ground Heat’s customers, a customer contacted the company in order to link a heat pump with solar thermal energy and a wind turbine on a property in North Wales. The property was an old cottage with excellent insulation and had a wind turbine that is producing far more electricity than predicted from calculations.

Ground Heat installed an 8KW Vaillant Geotherm heat pump with a bespoke 200 litre stainless steel buffer. The

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buffer itself was fitted with a built in immersion heater. The solar thermal for hot water was backed up by the immersion, under most circumstances being operated by electricity produced by the wind turbine.

The 5KW wind turbine was perched on a 15 metre mast on the North West coast of Wales facing the sea. Ground Heat reinsulated all of the roof spaces in order to improve heat efficiency. The GSHP is linked up to the wind turbine so that when the wind blows the heat pump switches off automatically and the wind turbine feeds the immersion heater built into the buffer.

This uses all of the electricity that the wind turbine produces during the winter months. When the wind turbine is not producing electricity during the winter months the heat pump automatically switches itself on.

The system can be operated through remote access via an iPad, iPhone or web browser in order to monitor and adjust settings when the property is unoccupied. This combination of three renewable technologies working together in harmony with the environment is a testimony to the simplicity of being able to provide a carbon neutral solution.

Industry recognition At the time of the company winning the ‘Ground Source Installer’ Award, Jackie Thompson, administrator at Ground Heat Installations spoke of the firm’s relationship with Valiant, “We’ve been carrying out a lot more Vaillant installations recently. It’s great working with Vaillant as they are incredibly easy to work with, as they are so helpful. Vaillant was kind enough to install an air-to-air system in our office, which we use to demonstrate the effectiveness of their systems to our clients.”

Dave Thompson, Technical Director said, ‘We choose Vaillant to install heat pumps in larger properties, where we have adapted systems to incorporate the heating of swimming pools and the installation of cooling systems’.

Words of wisdom Within the last three years the renewable industry has been flooded by governing bodies fighting to gain control of the heat pump industry with Easy Access MCS Accreditation courses.

It is not and should not be easy to gain MCS accreditation for the installation of heat pumps nor any other renewable technology. Ground Heat has been installing heat pumps for over seven years with no one to turn to for advice except for the Ground Source Heat Pump Association. The firm received accreditation in September 2010 after a gruelling administrative inspection which no doubt can and has been made easier and more expensive by the introduction of software purchased by installers and a plethora of courses available through various manufacturers and governing bodies.

The inspection of one its installations was insignificant in comparison to the paper chase and was performed by an inspector crammed with the theoretical knowledge of the renewable industry in particular money making solar PV, but with no practical experience of the installation of a ground source heat pump.

“Surely we have lost sight of the underlying principle of the heat pump industry which is the actual installation of the heat pump itself. Yes it is important that the heat pump conforms to the standards applied by MCS, Building Regulations and the Environmental Agency or the latest governing body that wishes to jump on the green bandwagon, but it is the installation that the is pivot in the centre of the roundabout of competing organisations hell bent on profiteering from the latest green initiative,” said the company, in a press statement.

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space, each room has its own temperature control.

The nail room being glass fronted has an Air to Air Source Heat Pump which gives heat and air conditioning and also air purification.

The by product of a heat pump is a cold liquid which gets pumped into the bores to reclaim heat from the ground. We fitted a unit en route which blows air over the cold liquid and gives free air cooling to the salon and removes the heat via vent ducts, this heat is then re loaded into the ground which makes our heat pump more efficient.

The four backwashes and showers use an enormous amount of water, as this water goes down the drain we extract the heat from it and re use the heat to re load our bores.

“We are alarmed at the number of agencies applying for accreditation in the renewable industry who are not qualified time served engineers. We are well suited to install solar PV, but leave it to the electricians. We are well suited to install air conditioning units, but leave it to refrigeration engineers. The trades are already there, leave it to the experts!”

Case Study > Revitalize hair and Beauty Spa Ground Heat had been looking for a premises local to our office to build a working showroom so when the owners asked for our help in their salon we realised that a salon would give us every application to demonstrate what Ground Heat could do. The owners gave us complete control of the design of the heating and hot water supply.

A Ground Source Heat Pump is a unit which extracts heat from the ground via bore holes and pipes laid in the ground which can be 75% cheaper in running costs, a much cheaper and greener option to oil or gas.

We approached Worcester Bosch and told them of our intention to make it the only total green salon in the country with new research applications being fitted along side their units and they very kindly gave us £15,000 worth of units to experiment on.

We fitted under floor heating to both floors to free up wall

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We have reuse of all the waste heat from the salon. We have solar panels on the roof which gives us hot water during the summer, once the hot water has reached temperature the solar then gets dumped back into the ground to give us an even more efficient running cost the following winter.

We believe we have gone one step further in ground source by using the renewable energy from an already super efficient system.

How the Ground-Source Heat pump Works A Ground Source Heat Pump is a unit that uses the heat from the ground or from groundwater to provide space and/or water heating.

All Ground-Source Heat Pumps have two parts: a circuit of underground piping outside the building, and a heat pump unit. The piping circuit can be what is called Open or Close Loop, there are two variations of the Closed Loop: vertical and horizontal (which refers only to the way the ground loops are arranged. Regardless of the type of Ground Source Heat Pump, it can be seen that a major reason for their superior efficiency is because they extract heat from a source that is free, the ground but also take heat via solar gain from the atmosphere i.e. the ground temperature increases and is regenerated on a daily basis via solar energy.(A body of water acts as a similar source of natural heat).

Ground Heat Installations has also carried out the installation

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of a Ground Source Heat Pump using a lake extraction closed loop, the job was unique because of the environmental constraints we were asked to work within. As one of the main clients was the British Waterways it was essential for them to minimise the risk of any potential pollutants including silt management. For this reason we approached a specialist directional drilling company who were brought in to install the main connector pipe work from the lake collectors back to our plant room.

For heating the building the company installed its own unique under floor heating system throughout controlled by optimising thermostats.

It also installed a solar thermal hot water system to provide some of the buildings hot water requirements.

About Ground Heat Ground Heat has full MCS accreditation which will enable eligible customers to claim the RHPP available from August 1, 2011 and the RHI feed in tariff when it becomes available next year.

The company specialises in integrating existing systems including solar thermal, solar PV, wind turbines and solid fuel burners with heat pump technology. It also has experience of cascading multiple units and installing mechanical heat recovery systems.

Ground Heat can offer expert advice on the design and specification of heat pump installations and offer a full after care service where we monitor performance of the installation and troubleshoot any problems that may occur. It offers a consultancy service for companies who may require our support on the installation of heat pumps.

Being market leaders Ground Heat has invested heavily in research and development and have designed and developed its own plant room that houses a full showcase of working heat pumps and other renewable energy alternatives including rainwater harvesting.

The company is accredited with Vaillant, Worcester Bosch and Stiebel Eltron, working closely with these manufacturers in order to keep up to date with the latest trends in heat pump technology.

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Geothermal Holes in Under Three Hours: Sonic Rigs Set the Pace

By Al Price

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hen it comes to drilling through overburden, nothing buzzes through sand, silt and gravel like a sonic. But, on one recent occasion, the drilling speed surprised even the company who manufacture the sonic drill rig.

Drilling a test hole for a future geothermal project, a Sonic Drill Corporation rig was able to bore past 300 ft. and complete the hole in two hours and three minutes. No other drill exists that could do the job any faster.

The drilling project, part of a law library extension for the University of B.C., was contracted to Hemmera Energy, a division of Hemmera Environmental Services Consultants in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. In this initial first step, the company was asked to conduct a feasibility study to see if it was practical to install a geothermal field in the proposed extension.

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“Our role is to do the test holes to see if a larger scale project is feasible,” said Christiaan Iacoe, an environmental scientist and consultant at Hemmera Energy. “If you’re going to drill 200 holes or more, it’s good to know the conditions.”

brought in as a “rescue rig.”

Located on the campus near the high sand bluffs overlooking Burrard Inlet, the plan was to drill a single 350-foot hole. The initial hole was drilled using a conventional mud rotary rig but, when the drill rig got past the 320-foot mark, it was stopped in its tracks. That’s when the sonic drill was

In typical fashion, the sonic rig buzzed quickly and easily through the same challenging conditions that jammed the conventional rig – the only problem was when they installed the geothermal loop into the hole, it was too buoyant due to salt water intrusion.

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“We always add rebar to compensate but, this time, we didn’t have enough,” said Sonic Drilling Ltd. general manager, Bill Fitzgerald. “By the time we got more rebar, our pipe had now become stuck.”

“We overdrilled the stuck pipe, removed it, moved the rig ahead, cleaned up and drilled the next hole,” he said. “I don’t know the time on that one. We didn’t measure it but it must have been pretty close.

We installed the geothermal loop and there was no problem.”

When it comes to test holes, Iacoe says any failed attempts are just as useful as ones that are successful. “If it shows it’s not realistic to drill at that site, that’s really important.”

“Our job is to produce a feasibility report, so what we do is drill the test hole and install a geothermal test loop. We have a piece of equipment that runs off a pretty big generator, that applies a constant temperature to the fluid in the loop,” he added.

“That gives us a temperature versus time situation to see what the actual heat transfer is.”

Iacoe says, based on the geology of the site as well as moisture conditions and other factors, they get a range of values including thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and deep ground temperature. If the decision is made to proceed with a larger field, this information gives mechanical engineers, in the design phase, the ability to use the actual numbers in designing the system, rather than projections.

“That’s way, way more accurate,” says Iacoe.

“We also pinpoint challenges at each site for fullscale construction.”

“We have a lot of experience working with Bill and Sonic, and they can drill through things other drills can’t,” adds Iacoe. “Their drill holes are fully encased so there is not as much sloughing and they can grout a borehole and retract the casing, compared to a mud rotary, which just leaves an open hole.”

Sonic Drill Corporation rigs use an award-

winning, patented drill head to transmit vibrations and power through a drill string. The energy produced liquefies overburden and bedrock and pushes the material up and away from the drill pipe.

This enables a sonic drill to achieve penetration rates 3-5 times greater than conventional drilling systems such as mud rotary, air rotary and auger drilling – all without the use of drilling mud and while drilling through overburden.

“The sonic is fast and so we count on getting through those zones before a problem arises,” explains Fitzgerald. “We do jobs all the time that require us to drill through a lot of overburden and we do it better than anybody else.”

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Domestic Heating Case Study Renewable Solution Provided: reliable, cost-effective heating and hot water solution for off-gas property in remote area RENOWNED ARTIST SCULPTS ENERGY EFFICIENT FUTURE Artist and sculptor Keith Maddison and his wife Christine live in a 4 bedroom, stone built bungalow, which nestles in the historical and picturesque village of Elsdon in the heart of the Northumberland countryside.

Although beautiful, the temperatures can be unforgiving in the depths of winter and deliveries of fuel supplies can prove difficult in poor weather conditions. A hot water and heating system that relies upon these deliveries is certainly not ideal, and with no gas in the property to provide alternative heating, an efficient and reliable system is essential.

Dave Webb, Installations Manager for Ice Energy Heat Pumps Ltd, visited the Maddison’s property to advise on which new system the couple should install. Having carried out a site survey at the property he recommended they replace their old system with Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan® air source heat pumps.

“Until now we have been relying on an AGA cooker fuelled by coke to provide the heating and hot water to the bungalow, but with solid fuel costs rising and supplies diminishing we had been looking around for a replacement,” said Mr Maddison. We were not happy with alternative fuel sources such as anthracite and pellet fuel and wanted a sustainable solution.

“Originally, we looked at the possibility of using a ground source heat pump system, said Mr Webb. “However, there was not enough space for a horizontal collector system, so early on in the design process we determined that an air source heat pump would be the right technology for the Maddison’s property.

“Sorting out the AGA was labour intensive, not only did it need topping up twice a day - which you forgot at your peril, as that meant we could be without heat and hot water for quite some time - and we also had to clean it out and dispose of the ashes on a regular basis,” he explained Mr Maddison wanted a cost-efficient, renewable energy supply that he could rely upon in all weathers, so he called in the UK’s largest and longest established renewable technology company, Ice Energy Technologies.

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“We performed a full heat load assessment on the building and the results confirmed that the property required two air source heat pumps linked together to provide sufficient heating and hot water for the couples’ needs,” he explained.

“The new system is controlled by an Ice Energy control system and heating is provided via a new radiator system, whilst hot water is supplied from a single 210 litre cylinder.”

Terry Hart, owner of Catterick-based, Hippo Plumbing, was called in to carry out the installation of the pumps, along with

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the renewal of the existing central heating system. Radiators and their connecting pipework were replaced in order to provide the correct amount of heat for the property and optimise the efficiency of the new system.

The work took place in some of the toughest weather conditions the UK has experienced for several years. In temperatures well below freezing, Mr Hart installed two, 8.5kW Ecodan units to the outside wall of the property.

“The weather definitely made life interesting in terms of getting the kit to the property,” said Mr Hart, “but the real challenge was the space restraints I had to overcome. The new cylinder was fitted back into the existing cylinder cupboard and the pipework run from outside, underneath the bath into the cupboard, and back out again to the central heating, in order to fit everything in.

We chose a cylinder that was not pre-plumbed in order to help deal with the space restraints, which was a major factor in helping me to overcoming the challenge.”

Mr Hart also praised Mr and Mrs Maddison’s patience and their “can do” attitude throughout the work, as they both continued to live in the property whilst the new system was installed.

The new Ecodan units harvest renewable low grade energy from the surrounding air and upgrade it into useful heat, which is used to supply the bungalow with all of the Maddison’s hot water and heating requirements.

Not only is this renewable energy technology very fuel efficient*, but it is also low carbon and helps to meet the Government’s goal of substantially reducing the UK’s carbon emissions by 2050.

Due to the very severe weather conditions the installation took a little longer than average to complete, but Hippo Plumbing went above and beyond what was expected of them in order to get the job done. In fact, when the delivery vehicles could not reach the house one day, they even managed to transport a large unvented hot water cylinder, 2 Ecodan pumps and several other items, over 300 yards, manually.

“The Ecodan’s are the ideal solution for us: no fuss, no mess, and very economical, I am really pleased with their performance.

They are also virtually maintenance free, all that is required is an annual check by a qualified tradesman to make sure the units are working properly and the vents are clear of debris,” concluded Mr Maddison.

INSTALLATION SUMMARY • 4 bedroom, stone-built bungalow with slate roof • Ecodan chosen to replace solid fuel system in off-gas property • Two 8.5kW units were installed due to the bungalow’s very high heat load characteristics • Installed over a one week period in very severe weather conditions * For every 1kW of electricity fed into the outdoor unit of an Ecodan heating system you could get at least 3kW of heating energy.

The overall system efficiency and energy savings will depend on how it compares to the heating system it replaced, satisfactory system design and installation, the operational settings and how the heating system is used.

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Large Scale Geothermal Heat Pump System With the help of advances in intelligent controls and a shift in design mindset, these systems can steer buildings toward smaller equipment sizes and associated savings. Review three projects and consider the benefits of keeping an upcoming project in the loop.

BY STEPHEN HAMSTRA, P.E., ASHRAE HBDP, LEED® AP, CGD

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or several decades, our industry has applied closedloop, water-source heat pump systems in commercial and institutional buildings. These systems can provide excellent energy performance when the building’s internal heat gains match the building’s heat losses or loads on a real-time basis, simply moving heat from where it is not needed to where it is required. However, the application of thermal energy storage in these systems has generally occurred in only a small portion of buildings such as the occasional water storage tank that served as a diurnal “thermal flywheel” to hold surplus heat from a daytime cooling cycle to provide the basis for nighttime heat requirements being the most common example. The polar shift towards net-zero building energy use requires us to rethink any application where we might be discarding energy that has potential to do additional beneficial work. As the application of geothermal heat pump technology has evolved, the design engineer has an entirely new set of opportunities to “time shift” energy on both a daily and seasonal basis. This is a major changein thinking for most engineers, requiring an adjustment in their design process from typically focusing on peak loads during design days and instead considering the benefits of harvesting, storing, and distributing energy between multiple loads, sources, and sinks.

RECYCLING ENERGY Large buildings with diverse uses often have opportunities to move energy; waste heat from air conditioning can serve as a preheat energy source for domestic hot water, etc. If these buildings are connected via some form of an energy-sharing network or “virtual central energy plant,” the opportunities grow enormously and the overall net cost of the needed infrastructure begins to drop. At a recent ASHRAE Conference, an engineer1 presented a case study of a college campus with a common geothermal heat-pump loop interconnecting buildings that totaled nearly 1,500 tons of peak cooling load, yet due to the energy sharing and diversity of the campus, the energy loads were being handled by a geothermal earth

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heat exchanger that was sized for only 300 tons. Real-world examples such as this compel the building design team to consider the larger picture beyond their standalone project.

This is a challenge in today’s marketplace where we parse large, complex projects into manageable smaller “bits,” often losing the opportunities for energy sharing and cost reduction available when we think in macro terms. We typically separate our mechanical systems by function such as chilled water generation, hot water generation, domestic hot water generation, etc., and design them independently instead of looking for synergistic relationships and opportunities between those systems. Some examples of attempting to take a larger view in both corporate and campus settings follow.

SELF-LEARNING GEOTHERMAL HEAT EXCHANGERS – EXAMPLE PROJECT #1 Example project #1 is a 344,000-sq-ft corporate center being constructed in Michigan for a large food service company.

In addition to traditional building functions such as office space and data processing areas, this building houses a large commercial kitchen for traditional food preparation as well as the development of new products. The project includes a snow-melting system at the major entries to improve employee access and safety. These last two items provide an excellent heat sink for much of the excess thermal energy generated by the earlier-noted operations.

The central energy plant consists of several heat recovery chillers totaling 760 tons, as well as two 250-ton custom rooftop units serving a large underfloor air distribution system.

What makes this project unique is the integration of drycooler sections in the rooftop units, as well as a predictive thermal-management system to control the heat flux to/

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THE ADVANCED HYBRID GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM – EXAMPLE PROJECT #2 Example Project #2 is a 20-year-old, 225,000-sq-ft corporate office building located in North Carolina that is the focus of a current feasibility study. The building has four existing 180ton air-cooled, directexpansion (DX) rooftop units serving VAV systems with electric reheat coils. This 760-ton system contributes to the documented building electrical peak demand reaching 1,400 kW in the summer and 1,700 kW in the winter.

The HVAC equipment is at or near the end of its viable service life. It could be replaced with similar units and the owner would experience some energy cost reductions due to efficiency improvements. But what if a different perspective were considered?

from the geothermal earth heat exchanger, the dry coolers (a heat rejection option or “sink”), and the snow-melt system (a “discretionary” heating load). The advanced control technology allows the geothermal heat exchanger to be an intelligent system component instead of merely “pipe in the ground.” Controls track real-time heat flux and then project the heat exchanger performance well into the future allowing corrective action to be automatically applied weeks or months before an overheated or overcooled geothermal heatexchanger situation arises. This control and pump package (Figure 1) is constructed off site in an ISO-9001 facility and arrives at the site pre-wired, with controls installed and programmed and hydronic components flow tested — all significantly reducing construction time, control commissioning time, and subsequently, project risks.

This application of intelligent, self-adapting predictive controls as well as innovative deep-earth directional boring in lieu of some of the vertical geothermal bores allowed the geothermal heat exchanger to be significantly reduced in size and first cost — in this case from $1,500,000 to $1,150,000 while still affording all of the positive benefits of geothermal heat pump technology.

Tracking real-time HVAC loads in/out of the geothermal earth heat exchanger and then comparing these loads to design loads enables the system to become even more intelligent over time as the history of actual performance is documented. Instead of the traditional project where controls function best at their first day of operation and then degrade over time, this system actually becomes “smarter” about managing thermal assets and then leveraging them for beneficial use.

The existing rooftop units are sized for the peak load of each of their respective zones — in this case, 180 tons per unit. The building’s blockcooling load reaches approximately 600 tons — if a central chilled water cooling plant were applied, the connected capacity could be reduced from 760 to 600 tons. Cooling could be delivered by replacing the existing DX coils in the rooftop units with chilled water coils connected to this central plant — these coils could serve as morning warm-up heating coils as well.

On-peak/off-peak electric rate structures, installation cost savings, and a reduction in the size of the geothermal heat exchanger point to consideration of thermal energy storage.

For this application the chiller plant could be reduced again, from 600 tons to 350 tons by the addition of ice thermal energy storage tanks. An additional benefit is that chiller operation during on-peak periods could be as low as 250 tons on a design day offering a huge reduction in summer electrical demand on the order of 35% to 40%.

Winter heating is currently provided solely by electric reheat coils at the VAV boxes. A central energy plant using geothermal heat-pump technology could provide hot water to the new chilled-water coil during morning warm-up operation, then heating would shift back to the electric reheat coils after the building reaches occupied mode. This shift from electric resistance heat at a COP of 1 to heat pump technology with a COP of 3 or more allows a very significant reduction in winter peak electrical demand, in this case on the order of 35%.

The final interesting part of this analysis is the review of geothermal heat exchanger options. For this application, if we sized a vertical geothermal heat exchanger to handle the entire cooling-dominated load, we would need approximately 200,000 borefeet in the ground (or 400,000 lineal feet of pipe). Applying thermal energy storage reduces the peak cooling load that the heat exchanger would see from 600 to 350 tons.

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Subsequently the size of the heat exchanger could be reduced to 180,000 borefeet — a 10 % reduction. Finally, the project has a 7.5-acre pond on the site that can also be utilized, allowing a further reduction in the vertical HX portion to 9,000 borefeet while adding much less expensive pond loops totaling 72,000 lineal feet. The overall potential reduction in first cost by applying these strategies is approximately $2 million. The key to achieve this level of benefit is the intelligent management of heat flow to/from the multiple heat sources and sinks — in this case, the vertical closed loop heat exchanger and the pond loop.

Both heat exchangers have significantly different performance characteristics that dictate their ability to either dissipate or store thermal energy — intelligent control technology allows us to maximize these characteristics for beneficial performance results.

The geothermal option for this client also opens up significant financial opportunities that would not be available if conventional replacement HVAC equipment were to be applied. These can include a Federal commercial tax credit of 10% of the entire geothermal system cost, bonus depreciation for an installation done in 2011 or 2012, and a 5-yr accelerated depreciation for the HVAC equipment in lieu of the traditional 39-yr period. These

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incentives combined with energy cost savings can return up to 1/3 of the initial investment in the first 5 years and can generate a positive cash flow upwards of $1 million in the first few years of operation.

THE ENERGY NETWORK – EXAMPLE PROJECT #3 Example project #3 is a 1,000,000-sq-ft college campus located in Indiana that was the subject of a recent conceptual review. The campus has a mix of buildings — academic, recreation, dining, residence halls, and offices. This blend of building types allows a mix of diverse HVAC and other thermal energy source and sink load profiles. Waste heat from academic and office buildings can be used as a source of heat for domestic hot water in the residence halls or for the swimming pool, etc. Energy that cannot be used on a real-time basis can be “stored” for use later in the day or year using multiple geothermal earth heat exchangers.

Sharing and “time shifting” energy using a virtual central plant in the form of a networked intelligent geothermal heat exchanger system allows significant opportunities for reducing the total cost of converting the entire campus to more efficient energy systems as well as the quantity overall campus emissions and dependence on fossil fuel.

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Single-loop geothermal systems have been promoted and applied by others2. In this configuration (Figure 2), a single pipe is routed in a circular fashion with primary circulation pumps that vary flow rates with fluid temperature differentials measured at multiple points — load and performance data are monitored and subsequently controlled via a central control system. Each building is connected to the loop by additional pumps that move fluid to/from the loop as needed to accommodate the actual building loads. Separate dedicated pumps move energy to/from the loop to dedicated geothermal heat exchangers which can take multiple forms such as vertical, horizontal, or slinky closed loops; deepearth horizontal directional bored loops; and pond/lake loops.

Hybrid cooling towers and boilers can also be mixed into this system configuration. Again, the application of intelligent geothermal earth heat exchanger control allows the different heat exchangers, sources, and sinks to be configured for optimum operation. A vertical closedloop heat exchanger might be configured with tighter borehole spacing to allow more effective heat storage, whereas other heat exchangers might be designed to more rapidly dissipate heat — the options for both the design engineer and the campus facility-management strategy are nearly endless, and by monitoring and “learning” the performance profiles over time, the networked energy system can become more and more efficient.

When multiple buildings with varying load profiles are mixed together using the concept of a virtual central energy plant, the potential for first-cost reductions can get to be quite large. The challenge is overcoming the initial expense of installing the primary loop; however, several financial options do exist to spread this cost out over an extended period of time in a manner that can provide very good returns on that investment.

Non-taxpaying entities such as this college do not qualify for federal tax-related incentives; however, this type of project can be financed and owned by a separate entity that could qualify for these incentives. The net result can take several forms, including options where the cost of the infrastructure is spread out over time, or if the owner pays for the entire project at the beginning, they may see a net 20% to 25% reduction in total project cost. It pays to look at the various financial tools that are available — the project team might consider the assistance of a financial expert with geothermal and renewable energy system finance experience as an integral part of the project team.

The key concept is that the cost of the final build-out of the entire campus will be much less expensive than handling each building as a standalone geothermal project, due to load diversity reducing the net amount of infrastructure that needs to be designed and constructed.

Reprinted with permission from Engineered Systems, A BNP Media publication. Copyright 2011 Engineered Systems magazine 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700 Troy, MI 48084 Stephen Hamstra, P.E., LEED AP, ASHRAE HBDP, Certified GeoExchange Designer Chief Technology Officer Greensleeves LLC 1995 Tiffin Avenue, Suite 312 Findlay, OH 45840 Phone: (419) 420-1515 Fax: (419) 420-1513

SUMMARY The advancements being made in intelligent, predictive control of thermally massive energy systems that employ technology such as geothermal heat pumps open many new opportunities to engineers and owners in the design and operation of energy-efficient facilities. Improved risk management is an additional benefit to this approach; thermal failures in the performance of geothermal heat exchangers where the fluids get too hot or too cold are relatively rare, but the numbers are increasing as the number of installations rise. Currently, most of these failures catch the owner by surprise systems begin to fail as the loop temperatures exceed operational limits of the attached equipment. Real-time tracking of geothermal loads and heat exchanger performance combined with predictive algorithms that forecast a future condition allow pre-emptive actions to begin well in advance of potential problems. This level of intelligence then provides the additional benefits of optimizing the loop temperatures over time to allow optimum overall total building energy performance as well as identifying the potential availability of additional capacity in a geothermal earth heat exchanger if the owner is considering future changes that might increase the loads on the thermal energy management system. To maximize the potential benefits these technologies bring, the design engineer must shift the approach from merely a “design day” mentality to one where data-rich, fullyear energy models interact with equally data-rich virtual models of building and system components. Intelligent controls can then take this strategy to an operational level with self-learning algorithms and control optimization.

These approaches will allow us to make significant progress towards widely achieving net-zero energy buildings.

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Residential Geothermal a Sign of the Times T

he sign says it all. At the very top of a list of lifestyle features, the sign for a new community lists geothermal heating and cooling as its main attraction. For many, it’s a sure indicator of what the future holds in new home construction.

Located within the thriving community of Sooke, BC, Canada, phase five of the new community of Woodland Creek offers a temperate rainforest climate, stunning scenery and three geothermal holes per home – homes that are built with Mother Earth in mind.

All of the homes in this phase are constructed to certified Built Green standards, a Canadian program that asks builders to be environmentally conscious (including waste management) and to construct homes with excellent energy efficiency and indoor air quality. Built Green homes, by design, are often made from recycled content, conserve more water, energy and other natural resources and have a longer lifecycle, requiring less maintenance.

The latest Woodland Creek phase is the first neighbourhood in Sooke to offer energy-saving geoexchange heating, cooling and hot water – technology that can reduce each home’s annual CO2 emissions by 2.5 to 5 tonnes (equivalent to the planting of one acre of trees per year).

When the locally-owned Totangi Properties first came up with the concept for Woodland Creek more than ten years ago, the idea was simple: create a residential community using Earth-friendly methods to build environmentally-sustainable homes with lasting value.

To date, more than 80 homes in the Woodland Creek community have already been built, purchased and occupied.

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“It’s so important for today’s developers and contractors to use sustainable practices and offer homeowners green energy saving options, like geoexchange heating and cooling,” says Blair Robertson, of Totangi Properties Ltd. “But, until very recently, it seemed that they were only available to developments with big price tags. Being able to create both an Earthfriendly and affordable neighbourhood, like Woodland Creek, has been a long term goal for us.”

With price tags starting at $384,900 CDN, standard home features include natural gas fireplaces with wood mantles, designer-selected light fixtures, 12 mm premium engineered wood flooring, master suite walk-in closets, central vacuum systems, gourmet kitchens with top of the line appliances, landscaped yards and more. The actual geoexchange systems, supplied by Kelownabased GeoTility, are 30 to 60 per cent more cost efficient than other heating and cooling systems and there’s the added benefit of being environmentally friendly as well as comfortable, safe and quiet.

Studies also show that living in a geo-exchange home offers significant health benefits: by blowing cleaner air, allergy and asthma sufferers can experience less symptoms and breathe easier. And, in light of rising energy costs, the efficient geo-exchange systems can save homeowners a lot of cash. Although a geothermal system can cost between $20,000 and $30,000 CDN to install, the energy savings over a 5-10 year period can pay off the majority of the cost of installation. From that point on, the savings begin to accrue and, upon resale, homeowners generally recoup their investment as banks and buyers alike see the value in going geothermal.

For real estate developers, geothermal can certainly offer a unique attraction for potential buyers but, in some cases, it also comes with its share of challenges – all

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depending on the ground below. In the case of Woodland Creek, the drilling began with a conventional mud rotary rig which encountered extremely difficult conditions. This resulted in only one hole being drilled in a three week period.

GeoTility, the geoexchange provider, then made the decision to engage Sonic Drilling Ltd. to complete the drilling program.

While it’s common for the sonic drill to be called in as a “rescue rig,” its performance at Woodland Creek became a project life saver. The sonic was able to drill three to four 115 ft. holes per day, making it many times faster and allowing the project to actually be completed. Without the sonic rig, there was no economically viable way to drill at this location which would have prevented the completion of the geothermal installations. In this instance, the contractor opted for the newer smaller-sized, track-mounted sonic rig which allowed for easy access in a restricted space.

allows the operator the ability to drill, case the hole, install the geothermal loop and grout the hole closed — in one operation.

“Sonic drilling technology allows the drilling industry to take advantage of more opportunities,” says Ray Roussy, developer and patent holder of the now-famous sonic drill head and president of the Sonic Drill Corporation. “By reducing on-site costs and increasing profit margins, more companies are able to grow their geothermal divisions and, most importantly, drill in areas that were impossible in the past because of challenging terrain.”

Because of its unique advantages, the sonic rig is now in use around the world, helping to further the adoption of geothermal energy as a sustainable, renewable option by making the cost of a geothermal installation a more affordable choice for consumers. Not only does it have the ability to drill through tough terrain that would have prevented geothermal installations in the past, it also

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If you can see the gates, it increases your chances of going through them I started GreenACT Ltd in 2009, both on a mission to help people adapt to the demands of Kyoto and with a desire to kick against the machine that had been paying the mortgage for 20 years.

The mortgage was on an old house that had been around since George, and was a draughty as a re tent. We were spending more and more ed each month on gas and, as a chartered mechanical engineer by profession, I began to read more and more about heat pumps and thinking ‘there has to be a better way’.

Two and two became four, quite easily. I could see opportunity in linking the engineering background with the skills in change management and marketing that I’d picked up wearing a corporate suit. GreenACT started off with the goal of taking the stuff on ‘free energy’ in the Sunday colour supplements and turning it into quantified information on installation & operating costs, so people could see what it could mean for them. “MyGreenHeat.co.uk” was borne as a website with some fancy modelling algorithms in the background to do just that. It was the first of its kind in the UK at launch.

They say that the best way to learn something is to teach it. I’d take it one step further: the best way to learn something is to use it in the design of something else. Every day for months was spent getting to the heart of SAP assessments and figuring out how to apply it to heat pump sizing, borehole depths, energy usage and seasonal efficiency.

With hindsight, it was a big thing to bite off and perhaps an indication of not knowing just how much effort would be involved. But it taught me huge amounts about how things really were. If there had been one ‘go to’ place for information,

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the learning curve would have been easier and definitely quicker to get through.

But there wasn’t. The picture was pieced together by meeting the folks at the British Geological Survey to find out what was possible from the various datasets they have; by meeting the manufacturers and hearing what they were saying on their product training courses; by talking to energy assessors and building s services engineers to learn the essentials t were relevant to ground source heat that p pumps and renewable energy. The list went o on….

Perhaps one of the most troubling things – from an industry perspective – was the va variability in the information from different so sources: the proportion of the total heating loa load you should size a heat pump for; the rat rate of heat extraction from the ground; the rule rules of thumb that are in use (even by some ma manufacturers at that time) about how to esti estimate building heat losses. It’s scarey really that the high costs of installing these systems doe doesn’t mandate greater uniformity in the tech techniques and a single authoritative source to go to for support and advice.

GreenACT has moved on since those days. We still offer support and cost-benefit modelling for people kicking the tyres on heat pump systems, but we’ve started to take our own medicine. Now, we also install Ground-Source Heat Pumps together with Solar Hot Water and Solar PV. We secured our MCS accreditation earlier this year and are applying all that hard-earned knowledge to help households adapt to the new ways of using renewable energy in their homes.

We know how much there is to learn and to keep on learning. But for us, that’s part of the joy about being at the leading edge of such an exciting new industry.

And the suit? Recycling itself slowly into polishing cloths.

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Advert ev energy forum

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Case Study Project New Building - Sammy Ofer Wing – National Maritime Museum Location London, Greenwich Heat Source ATES (Aquifer Thermo Energy Store) Pipe 6800m of 20x3.4mm W.T.H Tube Manifolds RUW-K with heat exchanger for separate heating & cooling function.

Project A £35 million refurbishment and extension at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. The project is to double the usable volume and create a range of new facilities in the newly built element alongside it.

Our Project Brief To design supply and install an underfloor heating system capable of heating & cooling, utilising a renewable water to water heat source capable of summer time cooling.

Project Conception We were approached by Mott McDonald Fulcrum (formally Fulcrum Consulting, who we have worked successfully in the past), to design an Underfloor Heating system with cooling capability.

The building was the Sammy Ofer Wing – an 1100m² new building at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Mitie Engineering Service (South East) were the M&E contractors for the project.

The heat source utilised an ATES system (Aquifer Thermo Energy Store), traditionally a Dutch method of storing all the energy required to heat and cool a building deep underground.

The technology uses two boreholes drilled into an aquifer. During the summer, groundwater is extracted via one borehole to provide cooling while unwanted heat is pumped into the aquifer via the

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The new wing has been made possible thanks to a substantial gift by Mr Sammy Ofer, KBE (1922-2011).

second borehole. In the winter months the system is reversed, extracting warmer water to provide heating. By doing this the aquifer is maintained in equilibrium not extracting too much heat nor putting too much back. The resource is then available for use again – totally renewable.

System Installed Our underfloor heating system was designed to achieve 60w/m2 of heating and 40w/m2 in summer time cooling mode. We provided condensation and dew point sensors which are a must when using underfloor cooling to avoid condensation build up on floors which could make the floor surface extremely slippery and potential ruin the floor finish.

For this project we used our RUW-K Manifolds complete with Plate Heat Exchangers. We had to use these manifold types instead of a standard

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LT-S Low Temperature Manifolds because the heating and cooling circuits could not be mixed. The Plate Heat Exchange enabled us to have the correct Flow temperature going to our underfloor pipes without using the Flow water direct.

In total we installed 10 Manifolds and a total of 6.8km of 20mm pipe.

Our pipe work was fixed to 150mm Celotex Insulation with a 65mm Screed covering the floor area.

Challenges The biggest problem we had to overcome was something completely out of our control – the

weather! We started installation during the winter of 2010/11 and very quickly the freezing temperatures and heavy snow slowed things up.

Despite the initial delays, we were able to complete on time, ready for the screeders. Once phase2 of the project was complete we were able to return to site and commission the heating/cooling system.

How we added value We have completed many underfloor heating projects utilising the cooling capability of a renewable energy system whether it be an Air Source or Ground Source Heat Pump, so were able to advise on parameters and functionality of the cooling system.

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National Ground Water Association to Develop Loop Well Standard T he National Ground Water Association (NGWA) has announced plans to develop an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) third-party accredited standard for the construction of vertical boreholes used in closed loop ground source heat pump systems.

The decision was reached by the NGWA Board of Directors earlier this month.

“This effort will use our now nearly 15 year old guidelines document on this topic as the basis from which to develop the standard,” explains NGWA Executive Director Kevin McCray.

The guidelines, first published in 1997, have been revised

by NGWA twice in the intervening years, most recently in 2010.

process is very deliberate and thoughtful, with an aim toward consensus agreement. We will follow the procedures to produce our best possible work.”

To learn more about NGWA’s guidelines for the construction of vertical closed loop heat pump systems, visit www.NGWA. org, or call 800 551.7379 (614 898.7791).

NGWA, a nonprofit organization composed of U.S. and international groundwater professionals — contractors, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, scientists, and engineers — is dedicated to advancing groundwater knowledge.

NGWA’s vision is to be the leading groundwater association that advocates the responsible development, management, and use of water.

“NGWA’s motivation is to strengthen our contributions to this important drilling market segment heavily served by water well drilling contractor firms,” McCray said.

“We want to help assure that the drilling of loop wells— the vertical boreholes of many ground source heat pump systems—is done in a way that protects the groundwater from contamination risk. The number of boreholes typically drilled for such systems makes groundwater protection especially important,” McCray continued. “We also want to assure that loop wells are drilled to the design specifications so these systems operate effectively over their lifetime. This will strengthen customer satisfaction and customer support.”

The guidelines contain chapters, or “articles” on topics such as loop well field design, test loop wells and samples, borehole construction, loop tube installation, loop well grouting, loop well field identification, and permanent loop well decommissioning. NGWA anticipates the standard will ultimately cover similar interests.

“Having much of the standard completed by way of the guidelines, we hope will lead to rapid development of the standard and introduction to the required public comment periods on the draft,” McCray says. “However, the ANSI

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Bishop’s Palace in Wells Uses the moat for heat pump installation

M

ore than simply an historic house and garden, Bishop’s Palace is a splendid medieval Palace, which has been the home of the Bishops of Bath and Wells for 800 years. The Palace is surrounded by a stunning moat and it is from here that the renewable energy is sourced for the newly constructed visitor’s centre. For buildings located near a suitable body of water, a water source heat pump offers an attractive alternative to ground source systems. They are virtually silent, maintenance needs and costs are negligible and there are no visible external units.

Ecovision are widely known for the 2010 BCI Award winning water source installation at Castle Howard in York, one of Britain’s finest stately homes, where the lake was used to provide the heating and hot water for this ancient building.

The national newspaper coverage announcing Hon Simon Howard’s impressive savings encouraged owners of stately homes to turn to our design expertise, including Ascott House, Harrow School, Treago Castle and many more throughout the UK. These older buildings were designed to operate at consistent lower temperatures provided originally by fires, maintaining the thermal mass in the thick stone walls. Heat pumps do something similar, but at a much cheaper rate than an oil or gas fired system.

A combination of ground, water and air source heat pumps coupled with solar power are now collectively radically reducing energy bills and carbon emissions nationwide and providing users with valuable income. With energy prices forecast to rise over 15% in the coming year, more and more homeowners are switching to renewables.

Over the years we have designed and installed an increasing number of closed loop water source systems but Bishop’s Palace was a more complex challenge. Unlike the Castle Howard system it was not possible to drain the loop area prior to installation. An array of ground loops, were designed on a loop support frame, which we lowered into the water using buoys as floatation aids. After the loop array was launched into the moat, it was floated into position using ropes. A diver then guided the array into the final position before lowering it under the water. The array sits on the moat bed but is lifted by weighting blocks which keeps it in position and holds the bottom of the loops 200 mm off the moat bed.

“We have installed many closed loop water source systems using the same loop layout strategy. In the past we have had the luxury of a dry surface to construct them on. The challenge at Bishop’s Palace was to get the loop set in exactly the right position. Calculations were made to ensure the loops, weighting blocks and frame would float and remain in position when filled and operational. It was a challenging part of the installation but with accurate planning it was plain sailing….”

Closed loop water source systems are becoming more and more popular. They reduce the client’s capital outlay and almost eliminate the requirement for the alternative, which would be horizontal trenches or boreholes. In addition it provides a solution for a building that does not have sufficient land space or for client’s who want as little disturbance to

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EGSHPA European Ground Source Heat Pump Association

the grounds as possible. Ecovision is working on several other closed loop systems of varying sizes in large country houses and estates across the UK. Although often the ground space is available, the number of horizontal loops required for several of these projects would have been expensive and would have involved extensive digging through beautiful parts of the grounds.

comprises 6 x 100 metre coils headed into one larger flow and return, which penetrates the moat wall adjacent to the plant room.

The heat pump is the Dimplex SIH 20TE, it’s output is 22kW and it can achieve a maximum flow temperature of 70º C which will supply all of the heating and the hot water for the building.

‘Water source heat pump offers Ecovision estimates the average an attractive temperature of the moat during the heating season to be approximately alternative to 7ºC. The underfloor heating has been to operate effectively at the ground source designed lowest possible flow temperatures. With this delta t across the system the average systems’ CoP will be approximately 5.2. This

At Castle Howard there was already a plan to drain and dredge the lake, which offered an opportunity to lay the 56 coils of MDPE pipe on the lake bed before it was re-filled. Each coil measured 100 metres in length and were filled with a diluted glycol, an environmentally friendly anti-freeze which will absorb the heat from the lake. All the pipes converge into a chamber on the lakeside and from there the warmed fluid is pumped in buried pipes to the heat pumps in the main house at a temperature of 10ºC. It ends up in one of two 100kW Dimplex heat pumps in the plantroom in the basement of the building.

Closed loop systems make GSHP installations more viable and depending on the water temperature and the flow rate, they also provide a more efficient heat source.

The Bishop’s Palace closed loop water source system

system will be approximately 20% more efficient over the year than an equivalent ground source heat pump system.

The return from the Renewable Heat Incentive will be in the region of £1,700 per annum. An alternative conventional oil system would have cost approximately £2,900 per annum to heat the building. The heat pump will cost approx £1,200 per year to run, giving an annual saving on heating costs of £1,700 and a combined annual financial benefit of £3,400. The project received funding from the heritage lottery fund and Church Commissioners for England.

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Unit 3a Wentworth Way , Wentworth Industrial Estate,Tankersley, Barnsley, United Kingdom, S75 3DH Website: http://www.groundsource-drilling.co.uk/home/ Email: johnson.dce@btconnect.com Phone: 01226 741 843 Fax: 01226 743 392

Geothermal International Ltd.

Greensleeves LLC

Spencer Court 141-143 Albany Road, Coventry, Warwickshire, United Kingdom, CV5 6ND

1995 Tiffin Avenue, Suite 312, Findlay, OH, United States, 45840

Website: http://www.geothermalint.co.uk/ Email: enquiries@geothermalint.co.uk Phone: +44 (0) 24 7667 3131 Fax: +44 (0) 24 7667 9999

Website: http://www.greensleevesllc.com/home.html Email: Info@Greensleevesllc.com Phone: 616.931.4042 x1004 Fax: 866-688-7738

GeoPro, Inc.

Energy Environmental Corporation

302 E. Warehouse Street, Elkton, SD, United States, 57006

8295 South Krameria Way, Centennial, CO, United States, 80112

Website: http://www.geoproinc.com/ Email: SWetrosky@GeoProInc.com Phone: (877) 580-9348 Fax: (877) 580-9371

Website: http://www.energyhomes.org Email: sue@energyhomes.org Phone: 303-953-2346

Slim Jim – Geo Plate

Drilcorp Ltd

7350 Tom Drive, Baton Rouge,, LA, United States, 70806

Kinley Hill Farm, Hawthorn, Seaham, Co. Durham, United Kingdom, SR7 8SW

Website: http://awebgeo.com/home.html

Website: http://www.drilcorp.com Email: info@drilcorp.com Phone: 00441915273970 Fax: 00441915273115

Phone: (225) 928 2630 Fax: (225) 928 2087

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Green Act

Geothermal Industries Ltd

70 Binswood Avenue, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire , United Kingdom, CV32 5RY

Weizman 2, Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel, 64239

Website: http://www.mygreenheat.co.uk/ Email: peter@greenact.co.uk Phone: 08455 33 32 31

Website: http://www.geothermal.co.il Email: don@geothermal.co.il Phone: 972(0)3.627.9502

Kensa Engineering Ltd

ESI Ltd.

Mount Wellington Mine, Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, TR4 8RJ

New Zealand House, 160 Abbey Foregate , Shrewsbury , Shrewsbury , United Kingdom, SY2 6FD

Website: http://www.kensaengineering.com/ Email: info@kensaengineering.com Phone: 01392 826020 Fax: 01872 862440

Website: http://www.esinternational.com Email: antoniogennarini@esinternational.com Phone: 004401743276145 Fax: 004401743248600

WSP Environment & Energy Ltd

Denver Drilling Services Limited

70 Chancery Lane , London , London, United Kingdom, WC2A 1AF

Guardian House, Capital Business Park , Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom, CF3 2PZ

Website: http://www.wspgroup.com Email: philip.lewis@wspgroup.com Phone: 02073145000 Fax: 02073145005

Website: http://www.denval.co.uk Email: Debra@denverdrillingservices.co.uk Phone: 02920 360576 Fax: 02920 793503

National Ground Water Association

GeoPro Design

601 Dempsey Rd., Westerville, OH , United States, 43081

Truman Capote, Javea, Alicante, Spain, 03730

Website: http://www.ngwa.org Email: customerservice@ngwa.org Phone: 614 898.7791 Fax: 614 898.7786

Website: http://www.geoprodesign.com Email: info@geoprodesign.com Phone: +34609434476

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