Introduction

The development of a geothermal heating system within Kirkhaven Hostel to help decrease the environmental impact by cutting C02 emissions.
Objectives and target audience
The objectives of this project are to:-

• Produce energy from a renewable energy source;
• Help decrease the environmental impact by cutting C02 emissions;
• To reduce maintenance costs.

Financial Resources and Partners involved

A grant from the Scottish Community Household Renewable Initiatives was requested to fund part of the geothermal system.  The total cost of the geothermal system was £85,685.07.  Contracts works cost £1,603,970 and a grant of £39,345.60 was received from SCHRI.
Thenew team consisted of the following partners:-

• Fraser Brown Newman Architects;
• Scott Bennett Associates (Structural Engineers);
• Hawthorne Boyle Partnership (Mechanical & Electrical Engineers);
• Towler & Hyslop (Quantity Surveyors);
• Capita Symond (Planning Supervisors);
• J B Bennett (Contractor)

The geothermal system was installed by:-

• Geothermal International

Process

As the hostel would need to meet to the new Care Commission standards, there was likelihood of being a major request for hot water (all 14 bed rooms consist of ensuite showers, there are 2 assisted bathrooms and separate staff showers), which therefore produced high costs.

Thenew and the Design Team partnership have an ongoing commitment to sustainability.  While Communities Scotland and Glasgow City Council support sustainability, there is no specific funding available.  The entire cost of the scheme was £1,931,551.  The project was also awarded £1,639,804, with a shortfall of £78,691.  This grant was awarded by the Housing Association Grant (HAG).  The shortfall is required to represent the extra-over cost of the heating system compared to a standard gas boiler system.

Several organizations were approached in order for grant entitlement.  These included Communities Scotland (Wider Action) Scottish Power, The Robertson Trust and SCHRI for grant.  To be able to tender costs for the grant applications, Thenew originally tendered the geothermal works separately.  This proved to be unsuccessful, as several of the tender applicants failed to fulfill the requirements needed for the tendering procedure.  A decision was then made to include the works within the building contract for the hostel.
Results.
The installation was quite difficult due to site conditions and time constraints.  The scheme originally was intended to be an ‘open loop’ type system, however, the intended aquifer did not yield the required output and the ‘open loop’ scheme had to be abandoned.  Regardless of this setback, Thenew remained very keen to incorporate renewable geothermal technology and a scheme for an alternative ‘closed loop’ type system was developed.  It was possible to utilize the boreholes already drilled for the open loop system for use with the new ‘closed loop’ type system.  However, additional boreholes were required in order for the ‘closed loop’ system to meet the required energy demand.
It has been predicted that the energy generated by heat the pump unit will be approximately 78kW.  This will give a serve an expected heating energy demand of 223,990 KWh.  Further results have also shown that approximately 71 tonnes of CO2 will saved in comparison to a conventional gas fired system.

Critical Success Factors / Challenges

The critical success factors regarding this project are as follows:-
Six partners were involved with the implementation of this project.  These were:-

• Fraser Brown Newman Architects;
• Scott Bennett Associates (Structural Engineers);
• Hawthorne Boyle Partnership (Mechanical & Electrical Engineers);
• Towler & Hyslop (Quantity Surveyors);
• Capita Symond (Planning Supervisors);
• J B Bennett (Contractor).

Due to there being a number of partners involved and for their similar views regarding sustainability, this would be considered as a major CSF due the amount of back that the project has.