With the use of onsite renewable energy sources starting to occupy the thoughts of developers and planners across the UK, the first Geothermal Briefing for the building services industry was held in London on 21 November 2007. Geothermal energy is a practical way to achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions but, like most renewable technologies, it requires careful integration with the entire building development process to avoid adverse impacts on building purpose and development cost. This represents a step change in building design requirements that affects the working practices of planners, architects, building service engineers and building contractors. It needs to be carefully managed to reduce overall technical and financial risk.
"The briefing was organised to provide the construction industry with the knowledge and tools to master the technology," said Dr Ric Horobin, Water & Environment Director at Zenith International, the specialist consultancy that organised the event in association with Loopmaster Europe. "We aimed to bring together leading experts to discuss implementation and best practice in geothermal". These experts included the Renewable Energy Association, the European Geothermal Energy Council, John Noad Building Environment, GRTI, GeoPro and the Environment Agency. The presentations initiated an informed debate about how best to manage the challenges, whilst achieving real and meaningful reductions in carbon-sourced energy consumption.
The topics covered during the day addressed such diverse areas as the relative merits of open and closed loop design, the importance of understanding the sub-surface geology and hydrogeology, UK national and European regulation, experience in Europe and the USA where the technology is more established, borehole design and installation and integration with the planning processes.
To discuss any aspect of this new technology, contact Dr Ric Horobin at Zenith International tel +44 (0)1225 327900, fax +44 (0)1225 327901 or e-mail geothermal@zenithinternational.com
Note for Editors
For further information, please contact:
Dr Ric Horobin, Zenith International Ltd
7 Kingsmead Square, Bath BA1 2AB, United Kingdom
t +44 (0)1225 327900, f +44 (0)1225 327901
zenithgeothermal.com