Rebuilt Ramsgate Library uses new approach for ground-source heat pumps
The ground-source heat-pump installation for the new building inside the burnt-out shell of Ramsgate’s historic library building extracts its heat from the ground using collector pipes that were hydraulically pushed rather than drilled boreholes. This approach is said to be quieter, quicker, create less mess and cheaper than rotary drilling.
This approach was chosen by renewable-energy specialist Econic for 84 collector pipes pushed into the ground to a depth of over 30 m.
The collector system is linked via a series of manifold to two 50 kW Dimplex heat pumps in the main plant room. They heat the library space via underfloor heating. The system can also deliver passive cooling during the Summer.
As part of the commissioning process, Econic’s engineers flushed all the buried pipes with a biocide to prevent any future build up of algae that could reduce the performance of the heat pumps. The system was then tested by an independent chemist before being filled with a special heat-transfer fluid.
Edward Willmoth of EDP Consulting Engineers says, ‘We considered a number of companies working in this specialist field. Econic won through because of the economies offered by the technique of “pushing” the collectors into the ground rather than having a drilling operation.’
