Phil Moore, managing director of the company, explains, ‘Sheffield Hallam University were concerned about the carbon footprint of the new building and were also looking to make the new building affordable to run over the long term.
‘Heat pumps were the perfect choice as they provide a renewable source of heat energy at much lower running costs. The project shows just how important heat pumps are in providing sustainable heating for large commercial or educational buildings.’
The Furnival building houses the faculties of arts, computing, engineering and science, as well as other campus facilities. It has a total floor are of 9500 m2, will house 240 staff and provide teaching space for over 1600 students.
The project involved sinking five boreholes to a depth of 90 m to serve underfloor heating. With running costs typically 75% that of conventional, such heat-pump installations usually pay for themselves in five to 10 years. Grants are available for charities or public bodies through the low-carbon buildings programme (see website address below) .
Phil Moore summarises, ‘There is a strong demand for heat pumps, particularly for commercial and public buildings as they are four times more efficient than conventional gas boilers.
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Keywords: GSHP
