Hanson Formpave combines rainwater harvesting, floodwater management and ground-source heat pumps
Hanson Formpave’s Aquaflow Thermapave integrates the company’s patented permeable paving with ground-source heat pumps. The integration of these two technologies can harvest rainwater and manage flood water and also provide heating and cooling inside building(s) on the site. The payback is said to be five to six years.
The company is installing 6500 m2 of Aquaflow Formpave at its new headquarter at Stewartby in Bedfordshire.
The geothermal technology is installed in a paved area, so no extra land is required.
The system has been installed at the Hanson House at BRE, where tests have shown that up to 6 kW of heating or cooling can be provided by 65 m2 of Aquaflow paving.
Heat is extracted from the ground by ‘slinky’ pipes installed into the voided sub-base of the paving.
The large water-holding capacity of the pavement system ensures that these pipes are constantly surrounded by water, often running water.