last updated 6th January 06
by 4ecotips.com

Heavy investment in alternative technologies

Gledhill Water Storage has invested heavily in the development of alternative energies heating and hot water provision - which is particularly significant in the face of the ever-stringent Part L building regulations. As one of the largest housebuilders in the UK, Bellway has also expressed its desire to produce more energy efficient homes.

Gledhill is currently working with Bellway on two energy efficient development projects in Lomond Road and Hunts Cross in Liverpool.

Hunts Cross Village is currently spearheading a pilot scheme by utilising heat harvested from below ground by geothermal heat pump technology. Typically a loop of pipe buried underground draws a small amount of heat and feeds it into the home via a heat pump that upgrades the temperature to between 50° and 55°

However, the technology alone may not be able to fully meet a householder's needs and therefore may require another heating source, to supplement the hot water and heating requirement.

The intelligent microprocessor within Gledhill's BoilerMate HP system is able to fully control the input and output of energy from the heat pump, optimising usage within the system as a whole.

Gledhill Water Storage has worked with a major supplier of ground source equipment to develop the optimum package to complement this heat pump technology. The BoilerMate HP is a primary store and unvented cylinder package, with the primary store delivering both heating and hot water and supplying the secondary unvented store with domestic water. It also integrates a 'central' electric heat source which provides off-peak electricity.

The intelligent microprocessor controller within the BoilerMate HP system is able to fully control the input and output of energy, from the conventional boiler and the heat pump, optimising usage within the system as a whole.

Linked to sensitive sensors throughout the system, the BoilerMate's controller will monitor the demands of the home, ensuring that low-cost energy is called upon first and will only initiate top-up from the conventional electric source when the output from the heat pump is not sufficient to meet the demand.

In Lomond Road in Liverpool, Bellway is initially building over 10 super-energy efficient homes as part of the Housing Market Renewal Initiative which will be supplied with micro Combined Heat and Power. Micro CHP systems are gas powered, domestic generators which produce both heat and electricity. They are at their most efficient when run for long periods, which is why Gledhill's BoilerMate mCHP is being installed to maximise the energy output.

Once again, the Gledhill appliance becomes the heart and brains of the whole system. The BoilerMate mCHP monitors energy use for heat and hot water within the home and modulates the running of the mCHP engine to fully exploit its energy efficiency. Dedicated microprocessors within the primary store will decide when energy input is needed to maintain the availability of heat for hot water and space heating and runs the mCHP engine accordingly. Electricity that is generated along with the heat can be used for running appliances or lights in the home, or be fed back into the national grid.

The BoilerMate mCHP is also fitted with the SWITCH stand-by electrical emergency power unit, which provides an energy boost to supplement the output of the mCHP engine. This ensures that in periods of high simultaneous demand, the householder is never left without hot water or heating.