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Daikin Altherma Energy Efficient Air Source Heat Pumps Selected for Scottish Young Persons Home
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Three Altherma air to water split heat pump systems, supplied by Daikin Airconditioning UK Ltd, specified by Helix Consulting, Dunfermline and installed by Enviroheat Ltd, Carnock, Fife, provide heating for a new special young persons centre in Croftmalloch, Whitburn, West Lothian. Opened at the end of October, the centre is an integral part of the West Lothian Children’s Services Plan 2005/08 and provides a secure and disciplined yet friendly family environment for up to 6 young persons at any one time.
The single storey building comprises young persons and staff bedrooms (one with wheelchair facilities), lounges, kitchen/dining room, family room, office and a general common area plus toilets and bathrooms etc.
The heat pumps are connected to under floor heating that is provided to most rooms – some 240m2 of the 270m2 building in fact. The systems are designed on a water flow temperature of 420C (Altherma can provide water at 250C to 550C), which is supplied by two type 006 and one type 007 systems (6.8kW and 8.4kW nominal heating capacity respectively). The systems each comprise an outdoor unit (ERYQ) and an indoor unit (EKHBH) known as the ‘Hydrobox’ and located in the plant room along with the under floor heating manifolds. Nominal COPs of these units are 4.34 and 4.05 respectively.
The compact inverter driven outdoor condensing units are mounted at high level on an outside wall of the building and can operate in external ambient temperatures as low as -200C. Although Altherma can also be used for the supply and temperature regulation of domestic hot water, in this particular installation it is dedicated solely to the heating circuit.
The Hydrobox includes a built in user interface set to the required flow temperature, a programmable 7 day timer, a weather compensator and a number of other useful features. For complete flexibility the Altherma system can also be connected to most room thermostats on the market, providing the user with the choice between a single room thermostat or a fully programmable controller.
Altherma is enjoying rapidly increasing use throughout the UK and its inherent energy efficiency, low CO2 emission levels, clean operation and low investment characteristics enabled the consultant to satisfy West Lothian Council that it represented a genuinely flexible and cost effective alternative to a traditional gas boiler, even more so since the cost of laying on gas to the site would result in yet further expense.
