Middleton School Environmental Applications

Date published: 19 May 2006

SDC were the principal Contractors on the new £12m Secondary School and Community Facilities in Milton Keynes

Mechanical and electrical systems within the building have been designed to reduce energy consumption and to minimise carbon emissions.

These systems include ground source heat water recycling which reduces water usage along with a range of solar cells on the roof. The building is also insulated to a level which will result in the radiators only being active in the coldest of weather conditions.

Ground Source Heat Pumps Application - In the main plant room there is two water to water heat pumps that can produce 43kW of power relating to and producing temperatures of up to 58oC, these heat pumps utilise heat from ground water. This system is very energy efficient, for each kilowatt of electricity used to run the heat pump, three to four kilowatts of heat are delivered.

Solar Collector Panel Array - In optimal conditions the solar hot water system reaches temperatures of up to 50oC. Even when sunshine is diffused through clouds, energy can still be collected and used to pre-heat the cold water entering from the mains. Over the course of a year, a typical system should supply about 40 - 50% of the building hot water requirements.

Rain Water Harvesting System - Located underground is a GRP moulded tank with a capacity of 25,000 litres. The water that collects in this tank is drained from the roof of the school and directed through a leaf filter system into the tank.

The project achieved a BREEAM excellent rating and SDC were part of the team which had the design to create this environmental / energy efficiency rating.