Hollowcore Concrete + Renewables = Further Carbon Savings

An innovative non-residential development in Worcestershire is set to become one of the first buildings in the UK to combine an energy-efficient heating, cooling and fresh air ventilation system, with ground source heat pumps to reduce on-site carbon emissions.

The new Phase 3 Building at the Malvern Hills Science Park, which is currently being built by Leadbitter, will utilise TermoDeck, a unique alternative to air conditioning from Tarmac. The TermoDeck system actively uses the high thermal mass of structural concrete hollowcore flooring to maintain stable internal temperatures and distribute warmed or cooled air throughout the building.

TermoDeck will help deliver further carbon savings at Malvern by working in tandem with four 90Kw ground source heat pumps to add extra heat or cooling capacity to the 2,000m2 building, which will include three floors of office space and two floors of laboratories.

The system supplies air through the hollowcore concrete flooring at low velocities to allow prolonged contact between the air and the slabs, enabling the concrete to absorb heat from - or deliver heat to – the air depending upon whether heating or cooling is required.

“On-site renewables are very important to delivering reduced emissions, but when used in combination with a thermally efficient building, the possibilities are exciting,” says Geoff Russell Smith, general manager at TermoDeck. “The heat or cool captured from the ground can be stored and used in a highly effective manner due to the use of thermal mass and the control provided by the TermoDeck system.

“As local authority planning policy increasingly forces developers to meet stringent 10 per cent carbon reduction targets, by already having an energy efficient building makes achieving this more feasible and cost effective, and offers a viable option to potentially inefficient air conditioning systems,” says Russell-Smith

4 December 2007