Recovery and Valorisation of Energy from Wastewater Using a Water Source Heat Pump at the Glasgow Subway: Potential for Similar Underground Environments
School of Computing, Engineering & Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road Glasgow, Scotland G4 0BA, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Resources 2019, 8(4), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/resources8040169
Received: 27 September 2019 / Revised: 28 October 2019 / Accepted: 29 October 2019 / Published: 30 October 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Underutilised Resources in Urban Environments)
An installation of a Water Source Heat Hump (WSHP) at Glasgow’s Underground Station, has been using the subsurface wastewater ingress to heat the office at St. George’s Cross station. The performance of the Glasgow Subway’s new heating system was observed for a few months. The energy output readings are being presented. An average coefficient of performance (CoP) of 2.5 and a 60% energy input reduction for the heating system based on the old heating system’s energy demand indicates the actual system’s performance. The purpose of this research is to detect the likelihood of implementing the same setup in similar underground environments where the excess wastewater may support a viable and eco-friendly heating system. Fifteen cities across Europe have been identified and presented, with the adequate water quantities, where similar heating systems may be applied. The output of this study indicates not only the financial benefit but also the energy and carbon reduction of this trial. It highlights main subjects which were encountered in such a challenging subway system. Future steps to commercialize the excess heat energy output are explored together with opportunities to promote the same setup in similar cases.
View Full-Text
▼
Show Figures
Figure 1
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Ninikas, K.; Hytiris, N.; Emmanuel, R.; Aaen, B. Recovery and Valorisation of Energy from Wastewater Using a Water Source Heat Pump at the Glasgow Subway: Potential for Similar Underground Environments. Resources 2019, 8, 169.
Show more citation formats
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.
