Ground Source Energy Consultancy Support for Architects and Building Designers
A well designed Ground Source Energy (GSE) system will provide an effective renewable energy solution for a building’s heating and cooling needs. It is likely to meet the requirements for a sustainable low carbon building and can support planning applications.
To realise these benefits and deliver a sustainable, low carbon and economic heating and cooling solution, the geothermal ground source energy scheme must be designed to match the building’s energy demand profile.
To achieve the best results and to arrive at a system that meets the buildings individual energy requirements a bespoke system should be developed ideally at the planning stage.
Ground Source Energy Schemes should be designed at a Building's Planning Stage
ESI encourages building designers to address a building’s energy requirements at an early stage and ensure that the solution is fully integrated with the building's energy needs. A desk based Site Check study can provide confirmation of the potential for Ground Source Energy to contribute or fully deliver the building’s heating and cooling needs. The site check would confirm that the geological setting, hydrogeology and thermogeology are suitable for the scale of the proposed GSE scheme. At the design stage heat transfer within the building can be taken into account and if the energy demand through the year can be balanced, a very efficient GSE scheme can be designed.
Feasibility studies and predictive modelling confirm the potential of the Ground Source Energy source as a long term solution and this can then be developed into the detailed design by Contractors when tenders are awarded.
When the energy solution is designed independently of the building itself, the resulting scheme is likely to be optimal for the building and therefore will be less efficient. lf a Ground Source Energy scheme is treated as an afterthought there is a real risk that the design will not match the eventual energy use of the building, will be less efficient and at worse could even fail to meet the buildings and client's needs.
Ground Source Energy Services for Building Design:-
