Welsh Assembly Government - The Senedd Building ground source heat exchange system.
Example of:
How good construction and refurbishment can help improve sustainability.
Key points:
- The National Assembly for Wales building has a ground source heat exchange system which uses significantly less energy to heat and cool the building.
The Senedd building on Cardiff Bay houses the National Assembly for Wales, and was completed in 2006. One of the requirements in the design brief was that energy consumption and use, and carbon emissions from the building should be minimised.
One way in which this has been achieved is through the installation of a ground source heat exchanger system that relies on the constant temperature of the earth at a depth of 100 metres for heating and cooling via underground pipes. In winter, heat is transferred from the warm earth into water passing through the pipes that is used to provide under-floor heating. In the summer, the process is reversed, with the heat being taken out of the water into the relatively cooler earth. This uses 2-3 times less energy to produce the same amount of heating/cooling as a conventional system, reducing energy costs and lowering emissions.
The UK does not host the expertise necessary to install these systems. It was therefore installed by a Dutch company, using Welsh labour where possible.