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A picturesque former Ovaltine egg farm was developed as energy-integrated offices and a visitors centre for Renewable Energy Systems Ltd. The U-shaped main building was renovated and extended, and a new building was constructed to house elements of the integrated energy system. Surrounding agricultural land is used for energy crops such as short rotation coppice willow to fuel wood-burning boilers.
To restrict noise penetration from a nearby railway and motorway, the office building is largely sealed and has mechanical ventilation. The roof of the energy centre includes integrated combination PV and thermal panels, and heat from the panels is used to preheat the incoming ventilation air to the offices. In summer, excess heat is stored in a 1100m3 pond, with a 500mm polystyrene insulated lid. The stored heat is used to preheat incoming fresh air.
The energy centre houses the wood-burning boilers and solid-fuel handling equipment as well as the willow cropped in the spring. Solar energy penetrating the store via rooflights heats the space over the summer and dries the wood to increase its calorific value when it is burned in the winter. Heat from the wood-burning boiler provides top-up heat for the office and exhibition centre, as required.
Electricity is supplied by the PV array on the centre roof and a wind turbine on the site. The complex as a whole is intended to be a net exporter of electricity to the grid.
The space is cooled in summer with a combination of thermal mass and night-time ventilation and ground water cooling. Water from the ground is used first to cool the incoming air, via the heating/cooling coil that was used to heat air with warmth from the heat store in winter. Further cooling is provided with ground water being passed through passive cooling panel elements in the ceiling.
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