Innovative £5m Primary School Opts for Ground Source Heat Pump

Ceredigion County Council has built a £5M state-of-the-art school in Brynhoffnant, Llandysul, mid-Wales, catering for over 150 pupils aged 4 to 11 years.  Ysgol T Llew Jones Primary School replaces four smaller schools in the area and has been constructed with sustainability at its heart. 

The project was jointly funded by the Welsh Government and the Council and designed and procured by its in-house Property Management and Projects Group.  To minimise the building’s impact on its surroundings the Group specified the use of an advanced ground source heat pump from Mitsubishi Electric to provide heating and hot water to the school.

The new system uses a closed loop geothermal system connected to five Ecodan® CHQ-P300YHM-A ground source heat pumps which extract heat energy from the ground.  This is compressed to upgrade it to a useful temperature and then transferred to Ecodan CAW400 and CAW600 heat pump boilers where it is used to provide the underfloor heating and sanitary hot water.

“The Council is very aware of the need for energy efficient buildings that make minimal impact on their environment so we aim to employ low-carbon, energy-saving technologies wherever possible,” explained Steve Fincham, Principle Mechanical Engineer at Ceredigion Council who led the design team. 

“The heating and hot water system had to be reliable, assist us in keeping the school’s on-going running costs to a minimum and befit such an impressive building,” continued Mr Fincham. “Quite a big ask really, but Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan ground source heat pump provided us with the ideal solution.”

The heat pump system was installed by Bristol-based specialist installer, Perfect Green Ltd who worked alongside Lorne Stewart, a leading provider of building engineering services who installed the mechanical and electrical infrastructure, including the pipework within the building. 

“The new system meets the exacting building and planning regulations that apply to all new facilities such as primary schools,” said Cyril Locke, Regional Director for Lorne Stewart. “Lorne Stewart has a wealth of experience in this area and is confident that the ground source heat pump installation will provide the school with maximum energy efficiency, minimal CO2 emissions and low maintenance - not to mention considerable cost savings.”

Other sustainable initiatives such as rainwater harvesting and natural ventilation have also been added to the building to enable pupils to use it as a learning tool and monitor the energy use of its environmentally-friendly features.

Mitsubishi Electric will monitor the highly efficient heating system in real time to collect

data on the long term effect of using a ground source heat pump system.

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Ends

Note to editor:

Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a global, market leading, environmental technologies manufacturer, producing an advanced range of heating, air conditioning and ventilation equipment. The company realises that ensuring the right solutions are selected for each individual building, requires collaboration by all involved. Mitsubishi Electric has therefore changed the way it does business to ensure engagement with all involved in delivering sustainable buildings so that together, we can make a world of difference.

For further editorial information please contact:

Russell Jones                                      Email: russell.jones@meuk.mee.com
PR & Communications Manager                               Telephone: 01707 278772

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