Experimental system utilizes ground heat to warm university swimming pool

University of Galway, Ireland, is experimenting with a geothermal heat pump system which will derive heat from the ground to warm the swimming pool in the university’s Sports Centre.

The project is part of the decarbonization efforts by the campus, where it is aiming for a 51 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, and to completely decarbonize the campus by 2050.

The project serves as a pilot for the bigger Geofit innovation action project, under the European Union (EU)’s Horizon 2020 program, which is a nearly €80 billion research and innovation program in transport and energy areas for 2014 to 2020.

So far, as part of the project’s progress, site works, which started in September on the lawn in front of the university’s Alice Perry Engineering Building, have created 18 boreholes for a network of thermal underground pipes, which will serve as a dual-source, ground-air heat pump system.

The pilot will utilize heat from the ground and feed two heat pumps to generate hot water, which will be carried through an existing district heating network of underground pipes to warm the swimming pool.

The data from University of Galway’s Geofit project will enhance its future capability to extensively monitor, manage, and maintain the renewable geothermal resource field over the next 25 years. The findings will help the university, as well as other public buildings, determine the feasibility and scalability of ground source heat pumps and other complementary solutions, such as district heating and novel heat storage technologies.

According to Irish Tech News, Michael Curran, head of building services, energy, and utilities, at the University of Galway, says, “This is not about just changing boilers with heat pumps—we will use this pilot as a teaching tool and a research laboratory. This is only a first step of a wider, campus decarbonization plan and an opportunity to monitor different performance data, leading to better decisions for large scale heat pump applications.”