TECHNICAL INNOVATION OF THE YEAR - FINALIST

COLT WRF SYSTEM COMBINED WITH AIR AND GROUND SOURCE TECHNOLOGY

Following the recent Building Controls Industry Awards Judging Session, Colt International Ltd has been put forward as a finalist within the prestigious TECHNICAL INNOVATION OF THE YEAR category.

Colt were selected for its recent WRF Caloris project at Ramada Hotel, London for combining air source and ground source heat pump technologies into a common system to heat and cool buildings more efficiently, the first of its kind within the UK.

Colt International's climate control division wanted to develop a more energy efficient HVAC solution for heating and cooling buildings that was both low carbon and economically viable, and which would be an attractive, yet practical option for those needing to meet their obligations under the Merton Rule and similar regulations concerning the use of renewable energy in new buildings.

Colt was already part of the way with its Caloris WRF HVAC system that uses water rather than refrigerant as the main energy transfer medium and air source heat pumps to generate the heat energy. The low carbon, energy efficient system saves internal space and its design makes it extremely cost effective to install and run. At the same time, the units have the flexibility to be adjustable by individual space occupants.

Colt believed it could make the Caloris WRF system even more energy efficient and environmentally-friendly if Ground Source Heat Pump technology, such as the one recently installed at Hatchcroft University, were added to complement the existing air source and the two heat sources combined into a common system that enabled them to run together at times of peak load, or switched between the two to maximise the prevailing air or ground conditions at any given time.

The initiative provides a new, cost effective and practical option for those designing buildings that are required or want to use renewable energy. The common system is cheaper to install than one using GSHP alone, and more energy efficient that one using air source alone. Running costs are lower than for comparable renewable energy HVAC systems. Less C0² emissions are reduced. The system overall is more environmentally friendly: noise levels are very low; there is no air pollution and there is minimum environmental impact around the site where it is installed.