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Impact editor Gavin Pearson visits the basement of a new shopping centre and finds a new heating and cooling system that Land Securities is keen to tell the world about
In the midst of a freezing winter, the first thing most people think of in the morning is heating. So it was warming one frosty Thursday morning to visit a new low carbon heating system that will double as a cooling system in the summer.
Underneath the City of London, within sight of St Paul’s Cathedral, Land Securities and Geothermal International have installed a new breed of ground source heating system. 60km of pipe work has been laid, largely in the foundation piles of a brand new shopping centre. These pipes will draw up warmth from the ground in winter, and put it back in summer.
The development of One New Change is a remarkable achievement in itself. The site is directly across the road from St Paul’s Cathedral, making it part of a heritage zone that requires its visual impact to be sensitively managed. It has also been built during downturns in consumer confidence and the commercial property market, each bought on by the credit crunch.
The project has cost £540 million, £270 million of which was the construction. There is space for 3,000 office workers as well as three floors of retail space. Fortunately for Land Securities, which built and will continue to operate the building, it is now 80 percent let having opened in October.
For now, economics takes a back seat. The big talking point is the ground source heating system.
Francis Salway, chief executive of Land Securities, explained: “We are proud to be pioneering this highly advanced renewable energy system at One New Change. The shopping and leisure destination is transforming the City of London, and now, with this technology, we hope to transform the way the industry designs and builds properties.”
His pride is not misplaced. Land Securities’ head of engineering, Neil Pennell is quick to point out that this is the largest hybrid heat pump in Europe. There are real advantages to the technology.
Because the system uses the natural temperature difference between the ground and the air, it reduces fuel needs. Estimates at present suggest it will save around £300,000 a year at One New Change in heating costs. It will also help to cut carbon emissions by at least 10%.
The fact that the same system both heats and cools the building also saves space. That space can be valuable, especially where it means freeing up the centre’s roof for a scenic bar.
The dual system uses two metre diameter foundation pile cages, in which ground source pipes are buried along with the foundations. This means they have to be durable. Once the holes are filled in the pipes become inaccessible. While this transfers heat between closed loop pipes and the ground, additional pipes use the large aquifers that make London suitable for more conventional ground source heat pumps.
Neil Pennell is clear about the issues faced. The £4 million system he saw installed is unique, but to see the technology grow he suggests that greater certainty will be needed for the licensing system that governs use of underground aquifers. It will also need a longer term outlook from investors.
“We retain our buildings and manage them ourselves. That means we take a long term view,” he explained. However, there were also more immediate commercial benefits to this combining heating and cooling in one system in one of the world’s most expensive locations: “This system uses 30 percent less space than would be needed for separate heating and chilling systems.”
Karl Draye is operations director of Geothermal International Ltd. Their technological knowhow and partnership with Land Securities made this project possible. He is less concerned about aquifer licensing. He suggests that because open pump systems require aquifers, their use will always be restricted. Many places simply don’t have the geology to support them, though where they can be used they work well.
Instead, the strength of One New Change was that so much of the work would be done by the closed circuit. This means that the water travels on a loop, being warmed or cooled by the air or ground. Anywhere with a good degree of heat differential between the Earth and the air above it can benefit. This especially true of a technology that is not particularly intrusive. The pipework fits within existing foundation piles so long as they are installed at the same time.
“This technology is real and available in all sorts of buildings.” he explained. However, he acknowledges that the imagery involved may struggle to inspire public imagination. When stood in a large dark hole in the ground watching pipes being embedded under a concrete slab, he questions how to get across the message that this is “the cutting edge of renewables.”
Land Securities is the UK’s largest commercial property company and a member of the FTSE 100. The company owns and manages more than 29 million sq ft of property, from shopping centres to offices. For more information see www.landsecurities.com
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