Mitsubishi Electric has welcomed the publication by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) of a national water source heat map, which highlights the significant opportunities that exist for open water heat pump installations across the country.

The Department was tasked with the preparation of the map by Rt Hon Edward Davey MP, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when he formally switched on the award-winning Kingston Heights Open Water Heat Pump community heating system in October last year.

The pioneering £70 million, mixed-use development in the heart of Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey harvests renewable, low grade heat from the Thames and transfers it 200 metres from the river to the development’s 137 apartments and 142 bed hotel and conference centre where it is utilised to provide all the development’s heating, hot water and cooling requirements.

Here Mitsubishi Electric’s advanced heat pump technology boosts the low grade heat provided by solar energy naturally stored in the river (and every open body of water) to the temperature required to provide all the heating and hot water for the flats and the hotel (as well as providing the cooling requirement for the individual hotel rooms).

The adoption of this system means the production of 2.3 megawatts of thermal energy with Zero Carbon emissions on site and with outstanding energy efficiency projected to provide Coefficients of Performance of 4-6+. Electricity required to run the system is provided by Ecotricity’s wind turbines, making the entire installation Zero Carbon.

“I always knew that what we were doing in Kingston could be easily replicated and I was delighted when the Secretary of State and his officers at DECC decided to map out the potential for the country”, explains Mike Spenser-Morris, managing director of NHP Leisure Developments and the visionary behind the scheme.

“Kingston Heights points the way to the use of the virtually unlimited store of solar energy which is lying dormant in the heart of our towns and cities” adds Spenser-Morris, who has set up The Zero Carbon Partnership to assist other potential adopters of the technology by sharing the extensive experience gained from the Kingston Heights project.

The ‘Water Source Heat Map’ produced by DECC is the result of a high level assessment of around 40 urban rivers with the greatest potential for water source heat pump deployment. The map, published on 11 August 2014 does this by identifying areas of high heat demand, adjacent to rivers with sufficiently high flow rates. It also highlights locations sensitive to environmental factors.

“This map helps raise awareness of the untapped potential for renewable heat that already runs through many of our communities”, adds John Kellett, general manager for Mitsubishi Electric’s Heating Systems.

Further details on the map, including the context and rationale behind it can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-source-heat-map.

For more information on the lessons learnt from Kingston Heights, visit the dedicated website at: http://www.zerocarbonpartnership.com