Local residents living in the village of Thornham near Hunstanton in Norfolk are reaping the benefits of renewable energy from a Danfoss ground source heat pump for their exciting new Village Hall.
Thornham Village Hall has been completely rebuilt, thanks to lottery funding, as a community venue for social events and sporting activities, with a room capacity of 150, plus changing rooms and shower/toilet facilities.
The 400m2 cedar clad building was fitted with a Danfoss DHP-L 16 Kw 3 phase heat pump by Danfoss’ approved installer Thermofloor, based in Leicestershire.
The heat pump receives its energy through 1,000 metres of horizontal ground loops which were laid by Thermofloor one metre underneath the six acre sports field adjacent to the building. As Thermofloor also fitted an underfloor heating system throughout the building, this will provide optimum distribution of the space heating for the building, giving added comfort to users of the facility.
The Danfoss heat pump will provide a sustainable means of heating the spacious village hall, which is expected to save the community up to 50 per cent on its heating bills, making it more affordable to run. The village committee was also keen to reduce the carbon footprint of their operations and find a way to encourage the wider community to consider sustainable energy solutions.
Colin Venes, chairman of Thornham Village Hall, said: “The old building ran on electricity and we were pleased to be able to make use of renewable energy with our new Village Hall. We wanted to make use of the large amount of land we have close by to generate heat for the building through ground source heat pumps. We are really pleased with our decision to use heat pumps, they offer a more affordable and sustainable heating source for the future.”
He added: “We have been delighted with the performance of the heat pumps so far and we’ve been amazed with how well the ground loops can extract heat from underneath the sports field. Most people don’t even realise they’re there!”
The DHP-L is one of an exciting range of domestic and commercial ground source heat pumps available from Danfoss Ltd. It has a compact design, with its low height making it ideal for buildings with low ceilings. It features a reliable, quiet scroll compressor and has an integrated three-step electrical heating element as back up.
Chris Dale, Director of Danfoss Ltd, said: “Community buildings need to be affordable to run and sustainable for the long term. With their new Danfoss heat pump system, the local community in Thornham can be assured that they will save a significant amount on their energy bills. They will also benefit from comfortable heating which will make it an all year-round venue.”
Danfoss Ltd. has extensive experience in the manufacture of heat pump systems for homes, schools, community buildings, developers, local authorities, housing associations and self builders.
For more information about heat pumps, visit the Danfoss website at www.heatpumps.danfoss.co.uk or telephone 0114 270 3900.