Giant otter enjoys renewable technology
Energy-efficient heating and ventilation for animal houses at South Lakes Animal Park in Cumbria and hot water and heating for offices and the veterinary centre is provided by Mitsubishi Electric Ecodan air-source heat pumps and Lossnay ventilation systems. The installations include the otter house, which houses one of the world’s rarest animals, the South American Giant otter, which has a body length of up to 2 m. There are only two zoos in the UK where the public can see this animal.
So far seven Ecodan units have been installed, ranging from 5 to 14 kW.
The systems were installed by Hecol, whose Brendon Uys explains, ‘We have also installed a Mitsubishi Electric Lossnay system in the otter house to provide fresh air in the most energy-efficient way possible. Lossnay not only recovers the heat from outgoing stale air to reduce energy use, it also allows the park owners to switch it to provide free cooling in the Summer.’
Hecol has installed a 5 kW unit, three 8.5 kW units and three 14 kW units to provide heating and hot water for the animal homes, including the otter house, and hot water and heating to the offices and veterinary centre. This is the first stage, with more to come as expansion plans for the park come to fruition.
