LPG Heating Case Study - Freman College
Heat is on for Freman College
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One location that has recently benefited from one of the latest renewable solutions, solar thermal technology, is Freman College, located in Buntingford, Hertfordshire.
When Freman College’s original water heating system began to experience mechanical problems, Hertfordshire County Council needed to install a new domestic hot water heating system.
The latest energy effiecient technology
Deputy head teacher, Tim Atkinson, says: ‘‘The need for a new heating system gave us the ideal opportunity to look at the latest energy efficient and greener technologies to meet the college’s water heating needs. Our understanding of solar thermal technology was that it can be used effectively for water heating and has less of an environmental impact than traditional water heating systems.”
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Solar Thermal Technology
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 When sized correctly for the demand profile, solar thermal technology has the potential to satisfy over 60 per cent of the building’s hot water load as an average over the year, with efficiency levels rising to up to 95 per cent in the summer months.
An Andrews SOLARflo hot water heating solution was chosen for Freman College. The system features a 2.55m2 gross collector area offering around 91 per cent transmission efficiency and 95 per cent absorption efficiency.
Andrews’ renewables applications Manager, Mark Webster, explains: “The overall efficiency is a balance between the number and size of collectors and the volume of hot water storage facilities. Detectors and meters have been fitted into the college’s system to measure efficiencies.
“Detectors within the pipes measure the flow rate of cold water into the generators and the system also takes readings of the temperature of the water before and after it has passed through the solar buffer vessels. With this data we can then calculate the energy gained from the system and translate that figure into the amount of CO2 savings.
During periods of low solar gain, a back up fuel needs to be considered for solar thermal technology systems. The college uses mains gas as a back up fuel, however, in non mains gas areas, Calor LPG is the ideal choice for renewable technologies as it is as one of the lowest carbon emitting fuels available.
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Integrated Solutions
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The SOLARflo package can be installed with an Andrews primary heating package, a direct-fired condensing storage water heater or a commercial condensing boiler - effectively a one-stop-shop for a totally integrated solution. Tim Atkinson concludes: “We are hoping that the system will be very efficient for the college as we use a lot of hot water throughout the year. In term time, hot water is used in the showers in the changing rooms, in the kitchens and in some of the classrooms such as the science labs and the food technology area.’’ |
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