CHOICES PROJECT
The CHOICES project is studying whether the grid impact of ground source heat pumps can be reduced economically by storing air-sourced summer heat in borehole arrays for use in winter (‘active recharge’).
​
Such an approach improves the overall efficiency of air-sourcing of heat by using direct, on-site PV generated electricity. The improved efficiency of the heat pumps in the winter months (resulting from the higher ground temperatures) reduces the grid impact – higher efficiency means lower grid draw.
​
The project team constructed a pilot CHOICES Energy Centre in Owen Square Park in Bristol that
comprises an air-source heat capture system and ground source heat pumps rated at 140kW.
​
Most buildings in the UK burn natural gas in individual boilers for space and water heating. This is supplied by the gas grid which covers around 80% of UK buildings and on a winter day can deliver up to 6TWh – 5 times more energy than the electricity grid can currently deliver. Heat is responsible for around a third of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. The replacement of the majority of this gas supply with a low carbon alternative is essential to meeting our carbon emissions reduction targets.
 |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |