Energy efficient legacy of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014

With the Commonwealth Games 2014 starting tomorrow (23rd July) in our own back yard of Glasgow, we’ve found ourselves very interested in the athletes village and how the houses have been constructed. The homes, located in Glasgow’s East End, will house around 6500 athletes for the duration of the games after which, 300 will be sold to private owners, 400 will be for social housing and there will also be a 120-bed care home. What interests us most is the fact that these homes will be incredibly green and carbon free and will be heated by a very powerful community heating system, known as ‘district heating.’ District heating works by having a heat generating plant in a certain location that can then be distributed out to homes in a residential area in a cost-effective, clean and efficient manner. In the case of the Athletes Village, the heat and power will come from a 70,000 litre thermal store, and then will be fed to the houses via 28km of underground piping on a flow and return system. What this means for householders is they will have hot water whenever they like without the need for a boiler, as well as a reliable heating source. The water will be on a continuous loop between the thermal supply store and the residential area, where the water will enter the system, be heated in a heat exchanger and then the hot water will be distributed around the home. Throw into the mix that these homes have solar panels on their roofs, the savings that householders can expect to make can be anywhere up to as much as 30% when compared with the standard individual heating systems. This environmentally-friendly way of providing heat and power is of great interest to us and we’re proud that it’s been happening in Glasgow. We expect more of these district heating systems to be rolled out around the UK in the coming years. If you’re interested in energy efficiency and saving money on your heating bills, but are not part of a district heating system, then take a look at our low water content Convector Radiator Range. The main benefits of the radiators is they have huge heat outputs and a stylish design but can run effectively on low temperature heating systems with ground source heat pumps. They use a low amount of water, but can have a very quick impact on the temperature of a room, making them a very efficient and low-cost way of heating your home. View our Convector Radiator Range »» We wish all the athletes the very best of luck and expect them to get a very warm Glasgow welcome. Here’s hoping for a high-quality, action-packed and energy efficient Commonwealth Games 2014! Article by Benjamin Clarke