Feasibility study to assess the suitability of installing a Ground Source Heat Pump

Prepared for: Mr Paul Jeanes Bretforton Road Badsey Evesham Worcestershire WR11 7XQ Tel: 01386 832298

Prepared by: Jagjit Singh Resource Efficiency Consultant ADAS Woodthorne Wergs Road Wolverhampton WV6 8TQ Tel: 01902 693224 August 2009

Contents

Executive summary 1 Introduction 1.1 The Project 1.2 Objective of Study 2 Tasks 3 Proposed GSHP System 3.1 Thermabed System 3.2 Type of GSHP required 3.3 Estimation of electricity costs 3.4 Type of boiler required 3.5 Estimation of oil costs 3.6 Comparison of two systems 4 Recommended plan for the future 4.1 Low Carbon Technologies 4.2 Planning Issues

1 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 6 7 7 7

Executive summary
Avoncross Ornamentals Limited is a greenhouse nursery based in Evesham, Worcestershire. Avoncross plans to setup a thermabed that would enable them to provide heat to plants in an efficient manner. The objectives of the report are to determine the feasibility of a Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) for the heating of the growing medium. Establishment of the capacity and parameters Compare with other options and sources, Technical options and costs for the establishment of heat generation supply Recommendations

Heated areas
Avoncross plan to install thermabed systems in the greenhouse in question and want to explore the suitability of installing a GSHP as against conventional boiler systems. Two options for heating the greenhouse with freestanding air heaters plus boiler or GSHP have been considered. GSHP, with high installation costs, low maintenance costs and using renewable technology is the most efficient heating system.

Fuel requirements
For GSHP the energy source required is electricity. It is expected that with the installation of GSHP there is going to be rise in electricity usage.

Financial
The main capital costs involved are stated as follows Heat pumps setup to deliver a peak load of 150kW to the thermabed system would cost 50,000 It is estimated that the site may need 32 boreholes and the associated costs involved with drilling and pipe work is approximately 128,000 The total cost of the boiler along with its installation is about 12,980 Operating costs for GSHP is about 8,192 and for the boiler is about 18,762 The payback period as compared to a conventional gas oil boiler heating system is approximately 6.5 years. Carbon Trust provides interest free loans to support with the installation of GSHP. Loans are available for both revenue and capital costs involved.

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1.1

Introduction
The project

More and more businesses within the agriculture and farming sectors have realised the importance of improving efficiency within their processes and at the same time make important savings both in financial terms and in carbon emissions. One such business is Avoncross Ornamentals based in Evesham, Worcestershire. The business, as a part of its improvement, plans to provide thermabed under-floor heating for the plants and maintain a temperature of 20C. The current site uses two free standing air heaters. The fuel for the site is 35 sec oil that is derived from fossil origins. Avoncross Ornamentals currently plan to install a thermabed system to improve heat distribution and mobility within the greenhouse. The prime focus of this study is to investigate the suitability of installing a GSHP and determine the benefits of installing a GSHP against a conventional boiler system.

1.2

Objective of the study

To determine the feasibility of installing a GSHP 1. Establishment of the capacity and parameters (input and output), fixed and variable costs of operation of heated floor propagation unit. 2. Evaluate technical options and costs including capital and revenue costs of operation for the establishment of heat generation supply, from conventional heating and ground source heat pump. 3. Cost benefit analysis of above and identification of barriers to progress;

4.

Providing recommendations regarding grant schemes to assist in installation

Tasks
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Site visit for data collection and inception meeting. Receive from the client, information on volumes and supply parameters Provide indicative volumes of heat capacity and availability and relate these to the heat requirements for the greenhouse. Identify costs associated with the installation of ground source heat pumps and conventional heating Comparative calculations of potential savings and payback period for ground source heat pump against conventional oil based heating. Also, calculate the respective carbon emissions for the two heat sources.

Proposed GSHP System

The analysis compares the costs of the heat pump and a conventional boiler system for typical annual heat use.

3.1

Thermabed System

Avoncross Ornamentals plan to install a thermabed system that enables them to move Danish trolleys with ease. It is expected that a heat source such as a ground source heat pump would be used to support the thermabed. From research conducted, it has been concluded that within Greenhouses the amount of heat required is typically 500kWh/m2 or 1800 MJ/m2.

3.2

Type of GSHP required

It is important that calculations are undertaken to determine the exact capacity of heat pump required. Table 1 Capacity of Heat Pump required
Capital Costs (2X75 kW) Maintenance Fuel Costs Total 175,000 250 8,192.88 183,443

Considering the heat output required it has been suggested that 2 X 75 kW of heat pumps are required. The associated capital costs with the installation of heat pumps including other tasks associated such as, digging up of bore holes is estimated at 175,000. GSHP are very reliable and there are very low maintenance costs involved.

3.3

Estimation of Electricity costs

It is expected that a total of 422,500 kWh per annum is required to support an area of 845 Sq m. considering the unit costs, it is estimated that the cost of electricity to run the heat pumps would be about 8,200.

3.4

Type of Boiler required

Gas oil boilers vary in terms of their efficiency, degree of automation, cleaning requirements, control systems and capability to run at low loads. This comparator system includes the boiler and the associated temperature reduction circuit. The Boiler capital costs including installation have been estimated as following

Table 2 Capital Costs of Boiler

BOILER PUMPS VALVES CONTROLLER PIPEWORK CHIMNEY HEAD VALVES OTHERS INSULATION ADD. COSTS Total

1 2 1 1 30 4 2 1 30

5,000 1,220 150 400 1,000 2,000 350 160 700 2,000 12,980

Capital Costs Maintenance Fuel Costs Total

12,980 500 18,762.34 31,992

3.5

Estimation of Oil Costs

Currently there are free standing air heaters providing air heating to the greenhouse. These air heaters use 35 sec oil and the annual oil usage is about 60,000 for the greenhouses on the site Considering the total area to be 845 Sq m the total heat required is 1,521,000 MJ per annum. The amount of oil required for the boiler is approximately 50,000 lts per annum at a cost of 18,762. Comparing to the GSHP system this brings in a saving of 10,569

3.6

Comparison of two systems

From the analysis conducted and comparing costs involved with installation of GSHP system with gas oil fired boiler systems it is expected that the payback period of GSHP is approximately 7 years.
Comparison of both systems
500,000 450,000 400,000 350,000

300,000 Costs 250,000 200,000 BOILER SYSTEM HEAT PUMP

150,000 100,000 50,000 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 Year 6 7 8 9 10

From the above plot, it can be observed that the payback period from the GSHP as compared to a boiler system is approximately 7 years. A 50% grant for the heat pump would reduce the payback period to approximately four years.

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4.1

Recommended plan for the future

Low Carbon Technologies
Supporting governments initiative of developing low carbon economy there are regional development agencies such as Business Link, Advantage West Midlands and Carbon Trust, offering grants to organisations to reduce their carbon footprint. Without financial support for GSHP the payback is beyond the normal period for justification of the investment. Therefore the possibility of grants should be investigated. At present, Carbon Trust offers interest free loans to assist organisations to install low carbon technologies. There are flexible repayment options available for the loans and are usually setup considering the payback periods of the system. Carbon emissions are lower in GSHP as compared to conventional boiler systems.

4.2

Planning issues
Planning consent may be required for the installation of GSHP.