Whitsome Ark

Whitsome ArkWhitsome Ark

a project by

the

Whitsome Village Hall Association

to

provide a community facility

for

Whitsome Village


to replace a war-time barrack block

transported and rebuilt as the village hall in

1952


apart from providing suitable

accommodation, the new building had to

incorporate sustainable materials and

systems to ensure low running and

maintenance costs so future ‘managers’

would not be saddled with high expenditure


at the design stage, the three main

‘sustainability’ components for energy

conservation were:

1. Ground Sourced Energy

2. Solar Heating

3. Building Insulation


Ground Sourced Energy

of the two methods of extraction – ‘slinkies’

(pipes buried about 1.5 metres down) and

boreholes – the likely greater consistency of

the latter made them the obvious choice


Solar Heating

although not a source as ‘available’ as

energy from the ground, nevertheless it was

felt to be a valuable – and cheaper – addition

to the system


Insulation

the cheapest and easiest ‘conservation’

system to install in a new building – the

Architect was instructed to ‘over insulate’ the

Ark to ensure a minimal loss of heat


The Heating System

this comprised two sources of ‘renewable’

energy and a standby fossil fuel boiler, all

combined in an integrated system to make

best use of energy


The Heating System

at the heart of the scheme is a hot water

reservoir or ‘buffer store’ which acts as both

the collector and distributer of the heat

requirement . . .


buffer cylinder of 800 litre capacity and highly insulated

domestic hot water cylinder wholly contained within the buffer

DHW

buffer


The Heating System

the roof mounted solar panels provide heat to

a coil in the bottom of the buffer when there

is sufficient energy from the sun . . .

Whitsome ArkWhitsome Ark solar panels

DHW

buffer

glycol circulating in a closed system


The Heating System

the three bore holes provide warmed brine to

the ground source heat pump which, in turn,

directly heats the water in the buffer


brine is circulated through the bore-holes and heat pump

hot water from the heat pump can be directed to either the top of the buffer or, if the domestic hot water temperature is satisfied, the lower part

heatpump

DHW

buffer


The Heating System – extra

when the buffer temperature is satisfied, the

hot solar panel glycol is routed to a heat

exchanger and warms the brine returning to

the ground . . .

Whitsome ArkWhitsome Ark Solar Panels

DHW

buffer

brine/glycol heat exchanger


The Distribution System

as the building temperature falls, demand is

made for hot water to circulate under the

floor . . .


cold return from underfloor heating

draw-off for underfloor heating

DHW

buffer


The Equipment Room

a fairly small room was set aside to house all

the heating equipment . .


buffer

heat pumpstandby

oil boiler

solar panel controls Heating System

equipment room

system expansion tank

brine header/expansion tank


Heat Retention

without the considerable amount of

insulation built into the Ark, all the

investment in ‘green’ heating would be

wasted . . .



And More

the oil boiler serves the dual role of being

available if the ‘green’ systems cannot cope

and be the sole provider of heat when grid

electricity is lost as it can operate from a

small standby generator


The Funding – circa £48,000

the oil boiler and insulation were part of the

main contractor’s overall price but all other

equipment was paid for by grants from the

Energy Savings Trust (SCHRI), Scottish

Borders Council, Viridor (Landfill Community

Fund) and BCCF Environmental


The Future

the Ark has Planning Consent to install 10kW

of photovoltaic cells on the roof and is

seeking grant funding

a planning application has been made to

erect an anemometer mast


Finale

While we hope these simplified sketches

provide an indication of the installations at

the Ark, if you’d like to visit, all the details are

on our web site: www.WhitsomeArk.org.uk

http://www.whitsomeark.org.uk/

Documents

Whitsome Ark