R1234ze heat pumps to cool City of London

UK: Carrier AquaForce heat pumps running on ultra-low GWP HFO refrigerant R1234ze have been selected for E.ON’s ground-breaking district heating and cooling scheme in the City of London.

Three Carrier AquaForce 61XWHZE heat pumps are being installed as part of a £4m project by power supplier E.ON at its Citigen energy centre in the heart of London’s square mile. The heat pumps will extract thermal energy from water pumped from boreholes 200m beneath the capital, as well as recycling waste heat from power generation. 

The Citigen power plant has been supplying power generation to major public buildings since 1992 as part of a community wide energy project to provide more efficient, cost effective energy and carbon savings of 5,000 tonnes a year.

The Carrier units upgrade the energy harvested to produce hot water at 80ºC and provide an additional 4MW of extra heating capacity and a further 2.8MW of new cooling capacity to customers across the financial district. The new technology adds to Citigen’s existing combined heat and power engines which already produce enough electricity and heating for the equivalent of more than 11,000 homes.

The new heat pump and borehole solution is expected to cut the carbon emissions associated with heating and cooling by up to 50% and will help to improve local air quality by reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. The project forms part of the city’s wider efforts to meet net zero targets and contributes to London’s climate emergency plans.

Customers connected to E.ON’s heating and cooling network include the Barbican arts and residential complex, the Guildhall and the Museum of London.

“Tackling the environmental impact of heating, especially in densely populated areas, will be key to meeting the UK’s 2050 net zero targets, and by installing heat pump and geothermal technology at Citigen we’re making a powerful statement of what can be done to reduce carbon usage on a large scale,” said Antony Meanwell, head of Low Carbon Solutions – City Energy Solutions.

“The high temperatures required by the project are normally very challenging to achieve. However, AquaForce heat pumps are designed specifically to generate high-temperature hot water from relatively low-grade energy sources, while maintaining excellent energy efficiency,” commented Carrier project lead John Foster.

Related stories:

£4m heat pump project targets net zero London – 26 June 2021
UK: Power supplier E.ON has started work on a £4m project to install one of the UK’s largest zero carbon heating and cooling systems beneath the streets of London. Read more…