16 December 2024
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The replacement of gas boilers with air source heat pumps is helping Bournemouth University in its aim of decarbonising heat across its extensive campus.
The university has 17,000 students and 2,000 staff. Its main site is at the Talbot Campus, with 14 academic buildings including Dorset House, home to the Doctoral College, which provides support to the postgraduate research community. Previously heated with three commercial gas boilers, the building was identified as one to focus on as part of a decarbonisation plan.
“We were successful in being awarded Low Carbon Skills Funding to create a heat decarbonisation plan for the Talbot Campus,” explained Lois Betts, Sustainability Manager for Bournemouth University. “Our plan aims to achieve a 50% reduction across all scopes of emissions by 2030-31 against a baseline of 2018-19.”
Nine CAHV-R air source heat pumps from Mitsubishi Electric have been installed in a special compound to replace the gas boilers. The CAHV-R units can deliver domestic hot water up to 70°C, which will be used for both heating and hot water throughout Dorset House.
“If we’d chosen a low temperature heat pump, we would have had to replace all the pipework and radiators throughout an operational building which was just not feasible,” commented Dave Archer, Energy manager for the University.
A single CAHV-R unit can deliver up to 40kW of capacity and each unit can work in a cascade system to reach higher capacities of up to 640kW and uses lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) R454C refrigerant, to deliver a robust, low carbon system for the provision of sanitary hot water and space heating.
For Dorset House, it also means that the multi-unit system can deliver capacities to match the different load requirements of the building throughout the year, and can also rotate operation between units, to help extend equipment life.
The installation of the heat pumps and a dedicated acoustic enclosure was undertaken by mechanical and electrical contractors, Lowe & Oliver, as Chairman, Paul Tuson explained: “We were responsible for the full installation of the air source heat pumps to replace the existing boiler system, along with an acoustic enclosure.”
Sustainability is a top priority for Bournemouth University as Lois explained: “We’re keen to create a campus environment that makes it easier for our students and staff to make the right choices for the environment and reduce their carbon footprint.”
You can watch a video on the project by clicking here: https://youtu.be/01kNYbYsmUY?si=AgSKrzPQaDxjkg4k
