Homeowners Professionals

Ground Source Heat Pump installation at St George’s College Weybridge

Photo of front  of St Georges College Weighbridge

1st June 2020

As part of its Zero-Carbon Schools Initiative, managing contractor  ReEnergise  is transforming the carbon footprint of St George’s College Weybridge in Surrey, installing four  Viessmann  heat pumps

Initial groundworks have been completed at a large heat pump installation at St George’s College Weybridge in Surrey. In late January, the sole remaining drilling machine made the last of 132 bore holes in fields that will be returned to use as sports pitches and for outdoor events.

Now follows the installation of four 230 kW Viessmann  Vitocal 300-G Pro  ground source heat pumps, which replace the school’s previous gas heating system as the main heat generator in an adapted plant room in the college’s Kean Building complex. Once commissioned, the new heating system will save about 250 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The managing contractor for the project is ReEnergise – architects and enablers of net-zero plans and programmes specialising in schools and colleges. ReEnergise designed the solution in collaboration with  St George’s College Weybridge  and in particular, Estate Manager, Errol Minihan, who is spearheading a future-proof approach to reducing the school’s reliance on fossil fuels and introducing a sustainable technology solution.

Steve Faucherand, CEO of ReEnergise, said, “It’s a pleasure to work with St George's College Weybridge, who are always forward thinking and have been on the low-carbon journey for some time. This is a major investment in zero-carbon technology that will give them options as they develop the College estate. We are already working with them to maximise the benefit of the system and increase its sustainability by utilising its capability to cool classrooms in the summer and return excess heat to the ground.”

Viessmann 350-G Installation
Viessmann 350-G Installation
GSHP borehole drilling
GSHP borehole drilling

Viessmann wholeheartedly welcomes today’s publication of the UK Government’s Heat & Buildings Strategy. The new strategy sets out a plan to achieve substantial carbon reductions from heat in buildings during this decade, towards meeting the net zero target in 2050. It’s publication, just a few days before COP26, is timely.

With over 20% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions attributed to buildings, the country is boldly taking the opportunity to showcase leadership in heat decarbonisation after little progress over the last decade.

After over 30 years of presence in the UK market, Viessmann is vested in the success of its low carbon transition. We see the publication of the strategy as an important milestone to unleash the innovation and investment in skills necessary to drive the uptake of new technology.

The future of heat is about a mix of technologies and solutions working in tandem. There is no quick fix or single solution available to decarbonise the UK’s building stock. An array of technologies will have a role to play.

Given the diversity of the UK building stock and consumer base, we are delighted that the strategy encompasses a mix of policies to promote heat pumps, hydrogen heat, heat networks and energy efficiency as well as new funding giving the industry a framework to push forward with innovative solutions.

We think it is key that the new schemes announced as part of the strategy, such as the £450m Boiler Upgrade Scheme to replace the domestic RHI, should incrementally drive low carbon heat markets further. 2021 has been a year of growth for the heat pump market and the new scheme should be designed to deliver additional heat pump installations in segments of the retrofit market where heat pumps would not have otherwise been fitted.

Viessmann is prepared by investing heavily in the technologies and skills of the future. As a leader in both electricity and hydrogen-led heating as well as conventional boiler efficiency and heat networks, we are committed to providing net zero compatible solutions for all homes and buildings.