Manor farm harvests heat
Sep 21, 2010
Manor Farm is situated on some of the most fertile planes in rural Bedfordshire. It is located on the edge of the beautiful village of Eyeworth and was constructed in 1865. Traditional arable and livestock farming methods were the order of the day on this once very busy farm.
This delightful Georgian-style farmhouse and buildings were recently purchased by Charles and Karen Sterling as a family home, together they drew up a sympathetic detailed restoration and modernisation plan of the building. This incorporated under floor heating and with Cº2 emissions, operational efficiency and lowest running costs in mind, they opted for a Ground Source Heat Pump to provide heating and hot water. So would begin the harvesting of sustainable Geothermal Energy whenever required, significantly reducing their heating costs.
Following careful consideration of the Heat Well’s design and in conjunction with ground water drillers and geothermal heat well specialists, Warren Ecological, the Geothermal Radial Drilling (GRD) method was chosen. Bob Evans, Warren’s Managing Director, said GRD provides a completely integrated drilling technique and solutions to a number of issues with this type of retrofit project. Warren were working with Roland Amey Renewables, the warm side designers, to install the NIBE Ground Source Heat Pump.
GRD is the innovative geothermal slant drilling system from manufacturers TT-UK (GRD) Ltd, part of the TT Group. GRD is designed to search out the most rewarding geology maximising heat well efficiency. Use of all land within the plot boundary can be considered without affecting its future use. Importantly it is also quite simple to increase the heat well capacity at a later date if for example the property is increased in size.
The project called for a total heat requirement of 30 kW, ten x fifty metre long bore holes would be drilled radially spaced to avoid borehole interference at varying angles between 65º and 35º down, over a radius of just 180 º
The Job site set up was rapid due to careful planning by Warren; the GRD 4R rig, just 1.5m wide, weighing 2700kg, was tracked and connected to its pre-positioned drill chamber for the whole of the drilling process. This completely avoids any potential damage to the immediate environment and garden. The integral drill rod and casings lifting hoist was then erected and the HSE safety platform connected, this reduces the rigs spindle rotation to a safe max 10 rpm when connecting and disconnecting all drill rods and casings to one another.
A Geological Survey indicated a mixture of clay, silt and sand, so water flushing using a conventional three winged drag bit, constant displacement pump and three settlement tanks were used. The Geology Report turned out to be reasonably accurate; geology was recorded rod by rod from the first bore to prove the drill plans and heat extraction values. The Geology remained the same throughout. The last 31 metres of every bore hole was green sand. This was cut and flushed out using a drag bit, constant displacement pump and a three settlement tank water recycling method. All borehole cuttings were returned into the settlement tanks avoiding ground or airborne overspill, leaving a clean and tidy site. TT-UK (GRD) have also developed a single container (skip) water loss method, where the pump recycles the flushing fluid which collects the cuttings and deposits them in a skip displacing the water. When full the skip is removed and a replacement provided if required.
With the first borehole at 50m long x 65º down, all drill rods were extracted and a Fusion co-axial (pipe inside pipe) collector was installed with grouting tube and pressure tested using a digital datalogger with an analogue pressure gauge back-up. This data is recorded for inclusion in the GRD Heat Well Owner’s Manual which also includes the drill plan, geology report, bore hole geology (real time) drill log and property heat requirement calculations.
All borehole collectors were made from one piece PE100/SDR 11 material and connect to the manifold fitted to the inside of the drill chamber.
Grouting: Following satisfactory pressure test results, grouting was carried out using thermal conductive ready mixed grout powder. A small integral hopper is filled with dry grout and mixed with water to the correct viscosity to suit both ground water flow rates and bore hole conditions. This took place from the bottom up by draining the grout pipe as the annulus filled. All drill casings previously supporting the integrity of the bore hole were then removed. Finally, the flow and return pipe connections were made between the drill chamber and plant room with continuous pipe lengths and all manifold connections made.
Evans concluded by saying "not only does the GRD method provide an intelligent and assured drilling process, the heat well owner should he wish to increase his heat well size at any time, the drill rig can be re-connected and additional boreholes added". (New property extensions etc).
This GRD heat well has now been in use for nine months; Charles Sterling said the combination of GRD and his Ground Source Heat Pump has been exceptionally efficient, particularly through this past extremely cold winter and he looks forward to this effortless intellectual Geothermal harvesting serving his family for year ahead.
Contact:
TT UK LTD.
10 Windsor Road
Bedford MK 42 9SU
PH.: +44 (0)1234.342.566
FAX: +44 (0)1234.352.184
E-Mail: info@tt-uk.com
Internet: www.tt-uk.com
More News and Articles
Mar 27, 2024
News
USU Study Looks at Water Main Break Rates in the U.S. and Canada
Report Highlights Correlation Between Material and Diameter
Mar 26, 2024
News
Update BE-21: New Material in Course and Modules on Trenchless Pipe Installation
Online training on the topic of pipeline installation in civil engineering: Trenchless technology for underground drainage construction can be a resource-efficient, environmentally friendly, time-saving, and cost-effective alternative to open cut methods. The UNITRACC e-learning course "Utility Tunnelling" has been enhanced …
Mar 25, 2024
Article
Bacteria as a new weapon in wastewater treatment
In early November, San Diego based startup Aquacycl officially opened its first European office and test center at the Water Campus in Leeuwarden. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and the Investment and Development Agency for the Northern Netherlands (NOM) …
Mar 22, 2024
News
A superior HDD offering
Building on its relationships with leading horizontal directional drilling companies, TRACTO Australia has delivered three new rigs to operator Superior HDD.
Mar 20, 2024
News
New portable water filtration technology could improve access to clean drinking water worldwide
The University of Texas at Austin has developed an injectable water filtration system with the aim to aid the over two billion people worldwide who are without clean drinking water.
Mar 18, 2024
News
Global Student Innovation Challenge Calls on Next-Generation Leaders to Tackle Water Security
High School and University Students Worldwide Invited to Expand Water Access and Community Resilience
Mar 15, 2024
News
New water treatment wins Prestigious Award
Introducing a advancement in water treatment, developed by Cardiff University researchers in collaboration with Origin Aqua, the FreeOxTM technology has garnered acclaim by winning a prestigious challenge award at the World Water Tech Innovation Summit. This single-step process not only …
Mar 13, 2024
News
Satellite-based river monitoring technique could provide early warning of flooding
A satellite-based method for monitoring the flow of rivers from orbit could provide a valuable early warning system for flood risk, University of Glasgow researchers have claimed.
Mar 11, 2024
News
Revitalising infrastructure with HDD
Through the use of horizontal directional drilling, TasWater is delivering a new sewer pipeline to improve sewer and stormwater transfer capacity in Launceston, Tasmania.
Mar 06, 2024
News
Picking up the pace on climate action: Building momentum from COP28
At the halfway point of the Paris Agreement, the legally binding international treaty on climate action, average global temperatures are already hitting 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels and future projections are stark. At COP28 in December, we could not escape the reality …
Mar 01, 2024
News
Luminescent sensor detects ‘forever chemical’ pollution in water
Researchers in the UK and Germany have developed a new approach for detecting pollution from ‘forever chemicals’ in water through luminescence.
Feb 28, 2024
Article
BETT installation demonstrating GHG emissions reduction of wastewater treatment
This study presents BioElectrochemical Treatment Technology (BETT) as a new wastewater management solution toward the Net-Zero future. The results reported herein were collected from a BETT pilot system installed at a large brewery in Los Angeles, CA, United States processing …
Contact
TT UK Ltd.
42 9SU Bedford MK
Phone:
+44 1234.342.566
Fax:
+44 1234.352.184