Olicana Park, ilkley
As the popularity of the ‘staycation’ shows no signs of abating, the demand for luxury holiday accommodation in the UK continues to rise. For one holiday park owner, who fulfilled a long time dream of owning a particular West Yorkshire complex, an exciting new phase is now completed – five luxury holiday lodges. Susie Stewart owner of Olicana Cottages in Ilkley commissioned the construction of five, two bedroom timber built lodges on the banks of the River Wharfe. Boasting saunas and hot tubs the luxury lodges that take full advantage of the peaceful riverside setting.
Perhaps most interesting is how the lodges and new café bar are heated – by a central ground source heat pump, giving the lodges and café independent control of heating and hot water. A NIBE F1345 40kW heat pump and a 750l buffer tank forms the basis of the system designed by NIBE VIP installers, Warmaway, who created this innovative approach to heating multiple units from a central communal unit. To add to the environmental considerations of the construction of the cottages and café, all the timber was sustainably sourced from sites across the UK.
The Solution
“I was delighted to work for Susie again having installed a ground source heat pump system at her home some years ago,” said John Redgwick at Warmaway. “Due to the complex nature of this particular system we became involved very early in the specification process to ensure maximum efficiencies were achieved from the design. Due to the geology and layout of the site we ascertained that it would be necessary to install the collector loops in boreholes rather than laterally. The system works by housing the heat pump and tank in a separate plant area and then heat is distributed to the lodges and café. Each property has its own Thermal Interface Unit which gives them the autonomy to control individual lodge temperature; it also supplies heat for the hot tubs and saunas featured in each lodge.”
Results
This type of system is quite unique and highlights an alternative way in which heat pumps can be used to support a variety of requirements and demands.
Warmaway conducted a detailed analysis in terms of the performance that the system will realise and have predicted Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments to be in excess of £103,000 over 20 years – the period of return for commercial installations.
The lodges are heated by underfloor heating fed from the NIBE ground source heat pump providing holiday makers with a consistant temperature throughout each room. A NIBE ELK26 electrical back up heater has also been installed to ensure sufficient capacity even during the coldest of winters.
Testimonial
Susie Stewart owner of Olicana Cottages commented: “Seeing the lodges completed and that our vision for sustainability and efficiency has been fulfilled is most pleasing. The installation of the heat pump system and the construction of the lodges has not been without its challenges due to the inclement weather we experienced this winter, yet, work has remained pretty much on schedule so that we can receive guests this summer.
“When we were planning the lodges we knew that we wanted to make them as environmentally friendly as possible and future proof them for years to come. John was one of the most professional and pleasant people we have ever commissioned and it seemed the natural choice to contact him once more and see if he could bring our dreams of using a ground source heat pump system for the lodges to fruition. He created a system that would fulfil all our requirements whilst making best use of the technologies available and with installation costs coming in at £80,000 it was imperative that we used a contractor with whom we had complete confidence in. John was able to draw on his expert knowledge of renewable heating systems and we are very much looking forward to the system delivering a return on our investment in the future.”
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