“Renewable energy is an important part of how we educate our pupils to become global citizens.”

 

Mr Hamilton, Headmaster, Bartholomew School, Eynsham

 

Hounsdown Secondary School in Hampshire contacted Southern Solar Ltd to design a Solar Thermal system that could reduce the heating bills and carbon footprint for their large swimming pool. The pool is used heavily in the curriculum and is also a valuable resource used by staff and the local community.

As an Eco School it is a priority for the school to make staff and pupils more aware of energy generation and usage. The Solar Thermal will also provide an educational benefit as the pupils can monitor and interact directly with the data produced by the system.

Over two weeks in June 2010, Southern Solar Ltd designed and installed a Solar Hot Water system for the school, that provided 69% of the energy needed to keep the pool at the correct temperature. Four large TiSun panels covering a total area of 40m2 were installed on the swimming pool roof.

Due to the large size of these panels they were craned into position. The Solar Thermal panels work alongside the existing gas boiler to ensure that the correct water temperature can be maintained. The Solar Hot Water passes from the panels through a heat exchanger, which raises the temperature, before it reaches the main boiler heat exchangers, this dramatically reduces the amount of time that the boiler needs to be running. The water in the pool is kept at 28 degrees, this means the system is capable of producing more useful energy throughout the year than a conventional domestic Solar Hot Water system because it relies on lower levels of solar insolation than a standard Solar Hot Water system.