Scotland leading Scandinavia in the future of district heating
The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Strathclyde University in Glasgow will hold an open seminar on the future of Glasgow’s district heating on the 22nd of January 2014. The seminar will be delivered by David Pearson, Director of Innovation at Star Refrigeration, who led the development and installation of the world’s largest ammonia district heating plant delivering at 90°C and with a global warming potential of zero.
The seminar will focus on how industrial heat pumps can extract heat sourced from local rivers and deliver over 10 MW at 90°C to heat the buildings of Glasgow. It will take into account the significant local considerations, such as network costs, fuel cost predictions, and future grid impacts, such as balancing. Students of all levels, academics, industry, and local councils are welcome to assist and participate in a seminar set to open the door for future project ideas and new research avenues.
David Pearson is Star Refrigeration’s renewable heating expert and an alumnus of Strathclyde University, where he graduated with a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and MBA. The upcoming talk at Strathclyde will be centred on answering pressing questions in the vein of how green Scotland can become by using heat pump technology:
- How much of Glasgow City Centre could be heated using heat extracted from the River Clyde or a brewery?
- How futureproof is this method of heating?
- How do heat pumps play a role in this?
- In what ways will renewable heating improve Scotland?
Known by its environmentally friendly and energy efficient products, Star is no stranger to technologically advanced industrial renewable heating. Most recently, the company was faced with the challenge of heating an entire city in Norway at 90°C using only the chilly Fjord as a heating source. It was a feat that even the International Energy Agency deemed impossible. Star’s Neatpump achieved a COP of 3.06 at 90°C and heated over 95,000 thousand people, including 6,000 homes and buildings in the Scandinavian city of Drammen.
The seminar will take place in Strathclyde University on Wednesday 22nd January at 1-2pm, in Room 515, 5th Floor, Graham Hills Building. Refreshments will be provided prior to the discussion.