Wind Turbine and Heat Pump installation – Autumn 2015

Wind Turbine and Heat Pump Installation – Case Study – Autumn 2015

Our team based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire have years of experience installing renewable energy systems as well as carrying out renovation work at a variety of properties.

Our clients in this case owned a converted club room for what was once a greyhound track situated high on a windy hill in Coundon, County Durham.

This greyhound track was originally built to serve the community of a colliery in County Durham. Coundon track was constructed in 1936 with an opening meeting held on Saturday 1st October 1938. The Jawblades Pit miners frequented it and in 1947 the track tote turnover was a very healthy £127,708. It traded until 1970 before closing and then converted to the present bungalow. The old shed that housed the betting booths is still in place.

Original Buildings at Coundon

The clients father had bought the property some years after the original owner closed it down. He and his wife wanted to be self-sufficient when it comes to energy supply and this installation ensures that they will have little or no energy bills for decades to come in what is now a very warm, comfortable and stylish property.

Inside the original Greyhound Track betting office

The club house had been converted to a bungalow some years earlier but further work including an extension to the main floor was completed by our versatile and talented team. In addition, the old beer cellar from the club house days was renovated and split into a reading room and plant room for the ground source heat pump and thermal store. The heat main and piping for the heat pump sits in the land next to the property which is now used for grazing and has quickly returned to grass leaving no trace of the heat main. As these rooms sit below ground they have been ‘tanked’ to ensure they are waterproof and additionally our team installed a window to provide natural light which doubles as an escape window which can be opened wide enough should they ever need to get out in a hurry if stair access is blocked.

Plant Room showing heat pump and voltage optimizer

As part of this renovation to house the heat pump and reading room, the team put in a new staircase and ‘nudged’ the rooms above to the right to allow for the space required. The team also then fitted out the smart new wet room.

The property is in a high wind area and as it is exposed to the elements some external wall insulation is being added to the most exposed part.

In addition to the Stiebel Eltron Ground Source Heat Pump, Andrew and the team installed a Bergey Wind 10kW Wind Turbine. Both of these technologies are subject to government subsidies.

Quarterly payments paid over 7 years can be claimed by the clients under the Domestic Renewable Heat incentive off-setting a good proportion of the cost. To qualify, a property needs to have a minimum of 250 mm of loft insulation and if the property has cavity walls these need to be filled. An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and Green Deal Assessment need to be carried out to submit with the paperwork which usually takes about 30 minutes to process.

Bergey 10 kW Wind Turbine

The BWC Excel 10 is a modern 7 meter (23 ft) diameter, 10 kW wind turbine designed for high reliability, low maintenance, and automatic operation in adverse weather conditions. It is designed and built in the USA and ideal for high wind locations. The turbine does not shut down in high winds, it simply furls out of the wind and slows down.

The Wind Turbine is subsidised under the Feed in Tariff which is the same programme used to offset the cost of solar panels. The payment rate for this turbine is 13.73 pence per kilowatt hour paid quarterly over 20 years. Based on local wind data predictions, this turbine should pay for itself in about 5 years and still provide further subsidy for another 15 years.

The turbine is installed 80 metres from the house and has an 18 metre mast. All turbines require planning permission to install and in this case it took 3 months to get approval. Futurum used a local planning consultant to get planning permission who has experience of wind turbine installations.

Turbine Technical Spec:

AWEA Rated Power:

8.9 kW at 11 m/s (24.6 mph

AWEA Rated Sound Level:

42.9 dB(A

AWEA Rated Annual Energy:

13,800 kWh at 5 m/s (11 mph

Start-up Wind Speed:

3.4 m/s (7.5 mph

Cut-in Wind Speed:

2.5 m/s (5 mph

Nominal Power:

10 kW @ 12 m/s (27 mph

Cut-Out Wind Speed:

None

Furling Wind Speed:

15.6 m/s (35 mph

Max. Design Wind Speed:

60 m/s (134 mph

Type:

3 Blade Upwind

Rotor Diameter:

7 m (23 ft.

Blade Pitch Control:

None, Fixed Pitch

Overspeed Protection:

AUTOFURL

Gearbox:

None, Direct Drive

Temperature Range:

40 to +60 Deg. C (-40 to +140 Deg. F

Generator:

Permanent Magnet Alternator

Output Form:

3 Phase AC, Variable Frequency (240 VAC, 1Ø, 60 Hz or 220 VAC, 1Ø, 50 Hz with Powersnyc II inverter.

Remote Monitoring via Internet & Smart Phones available through

APRS World

Stiebel Eltron Heat Pump

The 10kW Stiebel Eltron Ground Source Heat Pump is fed via 500 metres of 40mm ground collectors, set in wet clay soil. The trenching was dug out in the summer with the pipe work set 1 metre deep in a trench 900 wide. Wet clay is ideal for ground source heat pumps. The hot water generated by the heat pump is collected in a highly efficient 300 litre thermal store. A typical domestic hot water tank by comparison is normally about 170 litres. The tank is steel which ensures less lie scale problems and no corrosion.

In addition the property has been fitted with a Solaris 1.5 x 3m flat plate solar thermal heating system to work in conjunction with the heat pump which is then fed into the property via a ‘Simple Heat’ wet underfloor heating system.

Stiebel Eltron Ground Source Heat Pump

As further work is being carried out at the property and to help accommodate such high electricity generation the home is being upgraded from single to 3 phase.

The modular WPF heat pump is a brine system that is capable of delivering renewable energy to buildings on a much larger scale. The combination of up to six heat pumps means that the system can deliver a combined output of up to 100 kW. That makes it perfect for heating larger buildings or apartments for example. The system meters out its heating output via up to two controllers, making the system control very easy indeed. The modules can be matched, stage-by-stage, to your individual requirements, to deliver an energy supply solution for DHW and central heating which is tailor-made under ecological and economical aspects.

The most important features

Three output sizes

Heating flow temperature up to 60 °C

Extremely quiet operation

Suitable for cascade control for a higher output requirements

Voltage Optimisation

A VO4 voltage optimizer has also been added to the system to increase efficiency and yield.

This product improves system efficiency by reducing the voltage of the electricity supplied to equipment, minimising consumption while remaining within the operating conditions specified by the manufacturer.

Voltage Optimizer – Info Graphic

If a voltage optimiser is not fitted,

Incoming power from the National Grid is typically supplied at around 242V, this is higher than needed, which results in increased costs because sites are provided with more voltage than needed and this potentially shortens the lifespan of electrical equipment due to appliances being overpowered through the excess voltage supplied.

After installation of a voltage optimisation system:

The incoming power from the National Grid is reduced to a level more suited for the building, typically around 220V, which results in reduced costs as the site is only provided with the amount of voltage it needs. This increases the lifespan on electrical equipment as it is not being overpowered by excess voltage supply

Our team our very proud of this project and we know our client is very pleased with all the work done and professional nature of the Futurum team who have installed it and will maintain it.

For further information on Heat Pumps and Wind Turbines contact our sales team on 01609 775500 or 01609 775500. Alternatively please email us at info@futurum19.co.uk