Carrier chillers for ground-source heating and cooling system in London
At the heart of the ground-source heating and cooling system for the Riverlight development on the River Thames in London are three Carrier chillers. It is the first district heating and cooling scheme that Carrier has been involved with in the UK. The development comprises 812 residential apartments, including 116 shared-ownership units, retail sites, restaurants, bars, leisure facilities and a child day-care centre.
The scheme was designed and installed by IFTech and is believed to be the largest open-loop ground-source project of its kind in the K.
Eight deep-water wells are linked to the chillers and heat pumps. Carrier supplied three AquaForce 500 kW chillers.
The Carrier chillers supply six multi-storey buildings with comfort cooling and hot water from a central plant room.
These screw-compressor chillers operate in three modes.
In heating mode, they produce hot water at up to 45°C and can achieve a COP of more than 6.5.
In cooling mode, they produce chilled water and use the ground water as a condensing medium via plate heat exchanger.
In mixed mode, the system delivers cooling and also caters for the domestic-hot-water requirements.
Using three operating modes optimises performance and efficiency across the chillers’ range.
John Foster, who headed the project for Carrier, said, ‘This is the first district- heating and cooling scheme Carrier has been involved with in the UK. However, given the demand to reduce energy use and cut carbon emissions, plus the drive to build new homes in city centres, we are keen to participate in pushing forward the boundaries of technology in this promising area in the future.’
