Case Study: UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School

Euro Gas Ltd had the pleasure of working on the design and installation of a Hidros LHA 90kW air source heat pump as part of a retrofit to replace an old cast iron sectional gas boiler at the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School at Carysfort Avenue.

Designed by PowerTherm Solutions and installed by G & J Engineering Ltd., the Hidros LHA heat pump is being used to heat the restaurant area and feeds into a Cordivari multi-connection insulated buffer tank with a back-up high efficiency gas fired boiler. The heat pump will provide eighty percent of the annual heat requirement, with the boiler only operating when ambient air temperatures are below 6C, when higher system temperatures are required to maintain comfort conditions in the restaurant. The entire system is being controlled by the resident Cylon BMS system and the heat pump communicates with the BMS via ModBus protocol.

Fast tracked over the summer months, the project was delivered and located on the pre-formed concrete plinth in less than an hour. All of the equipment was installed and commissioned in advance of the new heating season.

The heat pump was designed to be the primary heat source and uses a 1,500lt Cordivari buffer tank to ensure that it runs for a prolonged period of time. The operation is monitored by a return water temperature sensor and all of the LTHW components are protected using SpiroTech SpiroCombi magnet units which remove absorbed air and also capture system dirt and debris as well as micro metallic particles. The units are designed to be easily cleaned and maintained and an external lever mechanism is used to de-energise the internal magnets and the units simply need to be drained off.

Stephen Farrell, SEAI; Cormac Reynolds, UCD; Cian O’Riordan & Steven Roycroft, PowerTherm Solutions; Mattie DeRossa UCD; Sarah Kelly, PowerTherm Solutions 

As this project was grant funded by the SEAI, it was really important to ensure that all of our supplied equipment continues to operate to the highest efficiency possible and to the satisfaction of the end users. While the installation is new and has been operating for only a couple of months, the performance of the heat pump is showing very good SCOP figures in excess of 3.0 and this is being continually verified by the site Energy Monitoring System.

To find out more about heat pumps and how they can provide a solution for your next project, please get in touch.