District Heating Pipework
Hil of Banchory Houses
ORC Technology
3D Model of Energy Centre
Contract Value:
£520,000.00
Client:
North Banchory Company
Timescale:
Ongoing
Vital Energi’s revolutionary design makes significant contribution to Scottish housing developer’s sustainable low carbon community.
As a small rural town, surrounded by forestry and agricultural land, Banchory in Aberdeenshire has seen considerable expansion in recent years. Development pressure continues to be strong and the town's population now exceeds 8,000. As Banchory expands, more demands are placed on local infrastructure such new homes, sports facilities, swimming pool and schools. Hill of Banchory ESCo Limited is an Energy Services Company (ESCo) working to provide an environmentally friendly, sustainable heat supply for homes on the Hill of Banchory development. This mixed use scheme is currently being constructed by Bancon Homes over six phases, which will eventually consist of 206 Nr 2, 3 and 4 bedroom homes, commercial office space, a leisure centre, nursing home and a hotel. As part of the first phase of works which commenced back in February 2008, Vital Energi were appointed by North Banchory Company, the owners of the 200-acre Hill of Banchory site to design, supply, install and commission a district heating network of specialist underground pre-insulated pipes distributing heat and hot water to 40 new homes on the estate. Each home is fitted with a Vital Aqua Varm ™ hydraulic interface unit (HIU’s) together with a heat meter providing control over flow rates, pressure and energy consumption.
As part of the remit, Vital Energi were also responsible for designing, supplying and commissioning a 550Kw gas fired temporary boiler house facility so that the district heating system continues to deliver heat and hot water to these properties until the main energy centre supplying the entire development is built and is fully operational, anticipated to be 2010 Vital Energi’s unrivalled experience and expertise in conceiving schemes incorporating energy efficient technologies as well as installing them made them the natural choice to undertake detailed design work in relation to revolutionary biomass CHP technology that will eventually fuel the Hill of Banchory development. A pioneering but in-demand sustainable technology, biomass CHP produces both heat and electricity simultaneously, delivering a more environmentally friendly and operationally efficient solution that stand alone CHP or a biomass system alone would not deliver. As part of the conceptual design brief, a number of energy efficient technologies were examined, investigated and compared. As part of the research Vital Energi’s in-house design team worked with and visited leading experts in the field of biomass CHP in mainland Europe, where this type of technology is more commonly implemented. Following an in-depth evaluation, a solution based on Organic Rankin Cycle technology was put forward as the most suitable technology which fits well on operational, financial and sustainable levels. The excess heat produced from the system will be distributed via the district heating network to each of the new homes, public and private buildings. The electricity generated will supply the larger businesses and any surplus will be exported back to the grid. As well as recommending a suitable technology and designing a system to fit the client’s requirements, Vital Energi have also designed the layout for the complete energy centre building including mechanical and electrical plant and equipment, thermal storage, wood chip fuel store and conveyor system to feed the biomass boiler.
A sophisticated underfloor heating system has also been designed which will dry out the wood fuel, sourced locally from forests and saw mills, to reduce the moisture content to a more suitable level for the ORC technology to run efficiently.
Once all detailed design works have been completed, Vital Energi will begin constructing the entire system, which will also involve extending the district heating network by a further 8 kilometres, as well as HIU’s and metering to supply heat and hot water to 26 public and private buildings and the remaining 169 homes on the development.
Conclusion
The Hill of Banchory scheme demonstrates how Vital Energi’s depth of expertise in delivering projects that work together with cutting edge design and the support of a forward thinking organisation like North Banchory Company can deliver a sustainable energy solution for the community it serves.
