Veterinary surgery uses natural heat to significantly lower energy bills

Project Overview
When the Chapelfield Veterinary Partnership opened the Brooke Veterinary Surgery equine clinic it wanted a heating system with significantly lower running costs than its five other practices, which are all run on oil fired boilers. The Partnership extensively researched the possible options for heating systems for the new build development near Norwich. Vitocal ground source heat pump (GSHP) and 400 litre buffer vessel was used. This would provide the high volume of hot water required during surgery hours and maintain a consistent temperature in the building for the animals and their owners throughout the year.

The site incorporates consulting and treatment rooms, an operating theatre, pharmacy, reception area, offices and a waiting room, and is surrounded by fields, which offered the perfect opportunity to install a state of the art ground source heat pump renewable heating system. The innovative heating system also includes a 24 kW cooling function, and is now saving the Partnership £4,744 per year, compared to the oil boilers at other sites.

Vitocal meets the specification
As a lot of surgery takes place at Brooke, the comfort of the patients and staff is vitally important. In light of this, the Partnership highlighted the need to have a reliable heating system to continually run at an ambient, but adjustable temperature. It stipulated that it wanted to make use of the 3 acres of land around the surgery. To fulfil this brief, Viessmann recommended a 21 kW Viessmann Vitocal 300-G GSHP with 1200 metres2 of ground loops, which were installed in the field adjacent to the main building. The heat pump automatically adjusts between winter and summer months via the Vitotronic controller, so no maintenance is required from the owners. RenEnergy also installed a Vitocell 400 litre buffer vessel to manage the high water demand.

To make the best use of Viessmann technology, an underfloor heating systemwas fitted into the ground floor of the building, covering an area of 240 metres2. This is easily controlled by the in-built weather compensated Vitotrol 200-A control unit, which keeps the water temperature above the dew point to avoid condensation. This is achieved through the heating and comfort cooling features of the Vitocal 300-G. Meanwhile, on the first floor, fan coils were installed to heat a number of rooms across a 211 metre2 area.These are controlled individually from a remote controller in each room.

Natural cooling system
Further innovation at Brooke is provided by the 24 kW natural cooling system as part of the Vitocal 300-G, which works alongside the heating and hot water generation, via a heat exchanger in the heat pump. It is activated when the outside temperature has been 24 ?C or more for three hours. This ensures that the ambient temperature remains consistent all year round, even at the height of summer.

Lower fuel bills and CO2 emissions
By using the Vitotronic control within the Vitocal 300-G GSHP, RenEnergy can monitor the energy usage of the property and measure potential savings all year round. The property uses 44,315 kWh of energy, which results in an annual saving of £4,744, compared to a similar oil boiler installation. The site also qualifies for RHI funding, from which it obtains £2,127.12 per year.

The unique design for the Brooke Veterinary Surgery incorporates innovative technologies to ensure optimal thermal conditions at all times. The natural cooling system that works alongside the renewable heating and hot water significantly cuts running and maintenance costs.