At first glance the mixed site of ‘90s construction semi-detached houses and bungalows at in Sudbury, Suffolk, is nothing out of the ordinary. However, hidden from view and beneath the ground is a sophisticated energy grid, harnessing free renewable heat to provide low-carbon, low-cost heat to the residents above, for the next 100 years.
Mimicking its multi-award-winning design previously adopted at a similar-sized site in Suffolk, at the start of September, property owners, Flagship Group, alongside UK specialists, Kensa Contracting, commenced a programme of works to replace the 12 properties' old night storage heaters with a renewable heating alternative to lower tenants' fuel bills and cut carbon emissions and local air pollution.
The attraction to the Indonesian delegation of the ground-source heat pump system with Flagship is the possibility to reverse the heat flow in Kensa's Shared Ground Loop Array design; the low-temperature from the ground can be used to provide free passive cooling to buildings, or for substantial cooling demands heat can be absorbed from buildings and discharged into the ground.
Each of the Sudbury properties has a Kensa ‘Shoebox' ground-source heat pump, which is wired to its own private electrical supply. Each British-manufactured unit from Kensa Heat Pumps is connected to a ‘Shared Ground Loop Array'; a system connecting clusters of two properties at a time together by pipework running to depths of 200m in boreholes.
With heat being generated at the point of use - the Shoebox heat-pump upgrades low-temperature heat absorbed from the ground via the boreholes - there are no heat losses through the pipework, increasing the system's efficiency. Furthermore, as ground-source heat pumps are a non-combustible technology, there are no NOx, SOx, particulates or CO2 emissions.
With drilling of the boreholes due to finish by the end of September, come the end of October it is anticipated all the 12 properties will have their new renewable heating system fully installed and operational.
"The opportunity to showcase this project to both the UK and Indonesian Governments is exciting and shows the growing level of interest in shared ground loop GSHP systems," said Stuart Gadsden, technical sales manager at Kensa Contracting. "By working together, we can make a positive impact on peoples' lives while contributing to carbon reduction targets."
