Rhino Heat Incentive for Edinburgh Zoo
These Indian rhinos at Edinburgh now benefit from renewable heating for their swimming pool following the replacement of a gas-fired boiler that was coming to the end of its life. The new heating system is based on four Mitsubishi Ecodan air-source heat pumps which will help reduce running costs and emissions by about 30%. This Ecodan cascade system qualifies for the non-domestic RHI, which could see the zoo receiving about £4000 a year for the next 20 years.
The pool is about 4 m square and about 0.5 m deep. The heat-pump system was installed by Lothian Gas, which worked closely with Mitsubishi Electric’s factory in nearby Livingston, where the units are made.
There are four 8.5 kW heat pumps in a cascade system to offer reliable heating throughout the year, regardless of the outdoor temperature. The Ecodan units have a ‘tube and tube’ heat exchanger specially designed to work with and maintain the lower temperatures that enable the heat pumps to be so efficient.
This species of rhino is on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list with a status of ‘vulnerable’.
Both rhinos are male. Samir arrived from Stuttgart Zoo in May 2010, and Bertus arrived the following month from Rotterdam Zoo.
