Heat from the Ground

Could the ground heat our local schools?

HKD Energy received a grant from the government to see whether ground source heat pumps could be used to heat Downlands and Windmills Schools. Our team of experts on technological and financial feasibility completed the report and found that although there are technically feasible options, none are financially viable at present.  Capital costs are too high and gas prices are too low to justify switching away from the existing gas-fired heating systems.

read the Executive Summary and the Full Report.

Why is renewable heat important?

About half of all the energy we consume in the UK heats buildings and most of this comes from fossil fuels. Use of fossil fuels like gas and oil is causing climate change, which leads to more extreme weather events, melting polar ice and sea level rises. We have started the switch to solar and wind to generate electricity: now we need to switch to renewable technologies for heat. These might be solar hot water heaters, biomass (woodchip) boilers, ground source or air source heat pumps. The more we use renewable energy, the better off the environment will be.

You can find out about different technologies for renewable heat here: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/renewable-energy/heat