The British Library
The British Library is an iconic UK symbol of knowledge and culture. Naked Energy is proud to support it’s heat decarbonisation efforts and commitment to sustainability.
Breakdown of project
Brief
The British Library’s Net-Zero program has the goal to offset carbon footprint by reducing reliance on gas and grid electricity. To meet these goals the Library has implemented a range of measures; it installed LED’s to save electricity and installed solar PV as well as a ground source heat pump on its Boston Spa site to reduce grid reliance and power all four buildings efficiently without natural gas.
The British Library’s main building in London employs a heat-driven humidity control system to preserve it’s precious collection of books and manuscripts. This, added to requirements for space heating and hot water for visitors and staff, creates a year-round need for heat, which would normally be supplied by burning natural gas.
The Library was in need for a efficient renewable heat solution which reduces gas consumption and by doing so carbon emissions. After considering a range of renewable energy and heating solutions the choice was made to go with Naked Energy’s Virtu solar heat and power technology. One deciding factor to go with Virtu is the product range’s low profile; it was the only solar energy technology which received planning permission on Grade 1 listed building as it doesn’t change the building’s silhouette.
The project was paid for by the UK’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which aims to reduce emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037 compared to a 2017 baseline.
Virtu Solution
The Virtu installation on the flat roof of the British Library is the largest solar heat installation in the United Kingdom by covering 712.5m2 of roof space. A total of 950 Virtu collectors, 240 VirtuPVT and 710 VirtuHOT, are generating solar heat and power leading to less burning of natural gas onsite, reducing The Libraries “scope 1” CO2 emissions.
The PVT tubes also employ PV cells on the fins which convert 20% of the sunlight to DC electricity. Each set of five PVT tubes is equipped with a micro-inverter, which converts the DC electricity to AC electricity, to be used throughout the building. Most of the remaining 80% of the sun’s energy is converted to heat.
Inside the Library plant room, the solar heat is stored in a giant 15 cubic-meter tank. When heat is required in the building it is taken from the solar tank preferentially, and any additional heat required is provided by the gas boilers. The tank acts a thermal battery, so that solar heart generated during the day can be used later in the evening or on the following morning.
The whole system is run using an intelligent control system which tells the pumps when to run and the valves when to open, for maximum performance. It is remotely monitored to allow the Library’s engineers to operate and maintain the system.
The system was installed by our trusted delivery partner Convert Energy.
Benefits
The Virtu installation tangibly delivers on the British Libraries sustainability goals, and has provided the foundation for future heat decarbonisation measures, such as the installation of an industrial sized heat pump.
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267 MWh of gas savings/year
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14 MWh of electricity savings/year
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Annual carbon savings: 55 tons CO2eq
Lifetime carbon savings: 1100 tons CO2eq
