Thermal energy

Italy groundwater heat exchange at hotel in former monastery, hot summer seawater stored in ground for winter use

Extract from report by Phil Turner in ECOVAST News August 2005 on the international conference on Solar Renewable Energy (SREN) in Florence in Italy - April 2-8. http://www.lm.utc.sk/~konf/sren2005.php

P.Avanzini, a practical architect working on Italian historic buildings, described how solar energy embedded in water bodies (the sea and lakes) and in the ground (shallow geo-thermal) can be captured by using heat exchangers. His photographs and diagrams of three current projects showed how a former monastery (now hotel) and a re-used fortification and another historic building adapted for a new use, could harness the relatively low temperature difference between the water and or ground temperatures on the one hand, and the air temperature / interior temperature of the buildings on the other hand. Using heat pumps, the requirement for conventional heat generation from fossil fuels was drastically minimised. Summer heat from the water was also being captured by ground storage, to be utilised in the winter. Not new technology, but good to see it being applied in practical and effective ways, particularly on historic buildings.

Heating system to combat climate change

The Council is once again tapping into sustainable energy resources as an innovative green decision is made to install a new heating system for offices at the Council depot.

This time, instead of looking up to harness energy through solar roof panels, energy will be through solar warmth captured in the ground, using a Ground Source Heat Pump. Although this technology is relatively new in the UK, it has been used in North America and Scandinavia for decades.The new Ground Source Heat Pump needs electricity to operate, but then typically returns 4 units of thermal energy for each unit of electricity consumed…

The cost of installing the Ground Source Heat Pump is around £45,000. Half of this will be funded through the governments Clear Skies Programme, leaving £22,500 from the Councils own resources. However the annual saving on fuel bills will be in the order of £4,500. This initiative therefore represents an invest to save proposal with a return on the Councils investment over a five year period. http://www.westoxon.gov.uk/furtherinfo/whatsnew.cfm/122

Geothermal heating of city centre Southampton UK

Geothermal Energy in Wessex Basin - geographical area of central southern England.

In the British Isles the underground sources of hot water are rare. Southampton is unique. The project serves a large part of a city centre rather than a rural area. Many places in the mainland of the European continent have more abundant geothermal opportunities that can serve rural settlements and the island of Iceland has outstanding resources serving the whole territory..

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