UK’s largest geothermal housing site to be created in Nottingham
Nottingham is set to have the UK’s largest geothermal housing developments after housing firm Gusto Homes unveil plans to use the energy source on two sites.
Collingham Park, a residential development with 60 retirement apartments and bungalows, will get its from 32 boreholes reaching 120 metres underground.
The adjacent site, Collingham Brook, which offers 45 properties including three and four-bedroom passive solar homes, generates the majority of its energy from rooftop solar panels, which provide free electricity for heating and hot water.
The geothermal energy system will work through pipes carrying very cold water from deep underground up to the surface, where the natural heat of the earth raises the water’s temperature.
Chief executive of Gusto Homes, Steff Wright, claims that the project is one of the company’s most ambitious green projects to date, with an entire community benefiting from geothermal energy.
“The technology we’re using to create this estate is game-changing, and it has the potential to transform the way homes are built in the future as we try to cut our emissions, reduce our impact on climate change and cut the energy costs for our homebuyers,” she said.
The geothermal boreholes at Collingham Park are being drilled by Nicholls Boreholes; the only firm in the UK to be fully MCS accredited for the design, drilling and installation of ground source heat pumps.
Drilling manager for Nicholls Boreholes, Tim Holland said: “While this is the largest scale project we’ve worked on, geothermal technology is surprisingly straight forward, reliable and efficient: Essentially, pipes carry very cold water deep underground, where the natural heat of the earth raises the water’s temperature.
“The water loops back up to the surface where a heat pump extracts the heat energy using a process that’s similar to that of a household refrigerator. For every kilowatt that it takes to power the heat pump, it produces up to four kilowatts of energy which means it can cut your heating bills to just 25% of the rate you’d normally pay.
“It’s great that Gusto Homes is using one of the most efficient renewable energy sources available in this country; they’ve committed to a good and efficient system which will provide green energy for many years to come.”
Source: EnergyZine
