Sustainable Heating With Agile Engineering
Agile Engineering Consultants
We provide engineering support for your buildings, facilities and projects
With the drive towards the reduction in carbon emissions from building services and the well-documented fact that Heating, Ventilation, and Air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are among the largest consumers of energy within buildings it is only fair that as building services engineers we look to reduce our carbon footprint through sustainable design.
One such technology which we can look to is Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP). The ground acts as a giant solar collector and thermal store. The way these works is that surface of the ground absorbs the energy from the sun and also heat from the adjacent air during the daytime and in the summer.
Similarly, it is cooled during night-time and in the winter. Ground temperature fluctuation reduces with depth and generally stabilises at the annual mean temperature for the location by about 8-10 m below the surface. Typically in temperate climates or non-alpine areas, such as the various locations in New Zealand, this temperature lies between 10 °C and 13 °C.
A GSHP draws heat from either soil or water (bore hole water or aquifer if sourced via water), by means of a fluid circulating through a network of pipes, and carries it to the heat pump, see below example within a house.
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In simple terms, the ground exchanges energy with a refrigerant gas within a standard heat pump chiller, and then the compressor adds some additional energy (but significantly less than a typical air source heat pump chiller). This provides heat input into the building or HVAC systems.
This system can significantly reduce energy input into the building and therefore provides a very viable option in sustainable building services design. In the year 2022, sustainability is more important than ever. When resources are used in a way that produces efficient results that are environmentally, socially, and economically favorable - it has an immense impact on a company's growth moving forward.
At Agile Engineering, we offer consulting services that allow our clients to approach projects with sustainability in mind. Through our team of experts, we are able to develop plans that fulfill our client's needs, while accommodating the social responsibility to help the environment. Contact us today?to put your projects into motion!