Kensa harnesses heat from thermal spring
31st July 2024
UK: Ground-source heating company Kensa has installed an open-loop water-source heat pump system using warm spring water to heat two council buildings.
The system installed at historic Taff’s Well spring in south Wales is expected to cut carbon emissions from heat by up to 80%.
Ffynnon Taf Primary School and the Pavilion at Taff’s Well Bowling Club will benefit from this water-source heat pump system, using the natural heat from the warm spring water, which emerges from deep beneath the earth at around 21ºC, to provide the two council-owned properties with low-carbon heating and hot water.
Using the innovative clean heating method instead of gas is expected to cut the school and pavilion’s carbon emissions linked to heating by close to 80%. It also demonstrated a way of using Kensa’s ground-source heat pumps without drilling vertical boreholes to access heat energy stored in the ground.
The bold idea of using the Taff’s Well thermal spring to heat buildings was initially proposed by the Friends of Taff’s Well community group, who were looking at other ways the historic spring could benefit the local community.
The warm water drawn from the spring is passed through a nearby heat exchanger, which is connected to Kensa’s ground source heat pumps housed inside the school and pavilion.
To keep the connecting pipework hidden and to avoid above-ground damage, Kensa horizontally drilled hundreds of metres between the Well, the school, and the pavilion.
After passing through the system, the clean water is emptied back into the Well’s overflow, feeding into the River Taff.
