Barclays promotional video overview of the collaboration between Naked Energy, VitoEnergy and Wimbledon
The headlines
- 🎾 130 VirtuHOT solar collectors
- 🎾 36.5 MWh of renewable heat annually
- 🎾 6.23 tonnes of CO₂ saved per year
- 🎾 A 1500-litre buffer vessel ensures stable hot water, even in peak times
- 🎾 A dry air cooler protects the system from overheating during peak sunlight hours
- 🎾 A smart hybrid system that pre-heats the water supply for new electric water heaters—replacing fossil fuel
Background
The Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) needs no introduction, they are renowned for hosting one of the world's most prestigious sports events.
In line with their goal to remove fossil fuel from the entire site, they sought a sustainable and cost-effective solution to decarbonise the hot water production for their hospitality services in the Aorangi building. This initiative is part of their broader efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and enhance their sustainability credentials.
The goal was to find a reliable, long-term solution for heating that would integrate seamlessly with the existing infrastructure and contribute to a significant reduction in energy consumption.
The Challenge
The key challenge was identifying an energy-efficient and low-carbon solution for the building's hot water needs, particularly during peak usage periods, such as the championships.
In addition to the environmental impact, there was a pressing need to reduce operational costs associated with heating.
Traditional gas boilers were being phased out as part of the club's wider decarbonisation strategy, and the club sought a solution that could support the electric water heaters to reduce the dependency on grid electricity.
Solution: Solar Thermal Energy
After evaluating various options, it was determined that solar thermal energy was the best long-term solution. Solar thermal systems use the sun’s energy to heat water, making it a low-carbon, low-cost energy source.
The system would be designed to meet at least 40% of the building’s hot water demand by harnessing solar energy to preheat water before it enters the electric water heaters.
One of the key advantages of solar thermal energy is its operational cost-effectiveness. The energy provided by the sun is free, which helps lower energy expenses significantly. The club's solar thermal array was sized to capture as much solar energy as possible with the given roof space, ensuring that it met as much of the building's demand during peak periods, especially the high-demand days of the championships when the building is fully occupied.
Implementation Process
The installation of the solar thermal system required careful planning and coordination. VitoEnergy, as the main contractor, undertook the project with a focus on minimising disruption while ensuring the system’s efficiency.
To facilitate the installation, full scaffolding was erected around the building, and a custom in-roof system was installed, this involved removing tiles and adding a specialised framing kit for the solar thermal tubes. The system was designed to gather solar yield efficiently while ensuring that the installation was discreet and integrated into the building’s existing infrastructure.
The water collected by the solar thermal tubes was directed through pipework running from the roof through the loft space and into the plant room. Here, it was stored in a solar thermal buffer and circulated through plate heat exchangers, which fed all the water heaters in the building.
Challenges Faced
Working within the constraints of a prestigious environment like the AELTC presented several unique challenges. The team had to coordinate their work around other contractors on-site and ensure that their activities did not interfere with the club’s operations. Additionally, appropriately stringent health, safety, and compliance requirements needed to be met, particularly given the nature of the venue and its high-profile events.
Another challenge was the tight timeframe. The installation had to be completed just months before the championships, requiring a highly efficient and well-organised approach to ensure the system was up and running before the event.
The British weather was the biggest challenge, with only weeks to go before the Championships we had a sudden an unexpected rainy season (it is England after all) and our project timeline took a hit.
Due to the in-roof system, it was completely unsafe to work up there in the wet and in agreement with the client there was no alternative other than fully covering the roof. In order to reduce the impact on our clients, we mobilised additional team members who were not originally planned to be there and completed the roof installation with nearly a month to go before the main event!
Collaboration with Naked Energy
A key partner in this project was Naked Energy, known for its cutting-edge solar thermal technology. The team at Naked Energy, including experts like Christian Albright, Maged Solomon, and Steve Webster, provided invaluable support throughout the project.
Their innovative system is more efficient than conventional solar thermal systems, enabling it to meet nearly 50% of the building’s total energy demand, despite the relatively limited sunlight available in the UK. Naked Energy also have a hybrid solution which can create electrical AND thermal energy.
Naked Energy’s solar thermal system offered a significant technological advantage, enabling high efficiency in capturing solar energy even in less sunny climates. This innovation makes solar thermal energy an ideal solution for large entities like AELTC, where gas consumption is being phased out and reliance on renewable energy is becoming a top priority.
For businesses and organisations looking to reduce their carbon footprint and energy costs, solar thermal systems offer substantial benefits. Additionally, power purchase agreements (PPAs) can help reduce the initial capital expenditure, spreading the cost over a longer period and making the system more financially accessible.
One of the main attractions of solar thermal for commercial properties is the grade of heat, heat pumps are the preferred solution for decarbonising buildings both old and new but they suffer when high temperatures are required. Solar thermal can run at near steam temperatures on days that have enough available energy which makes them incredible at providing higher temperatures.
We would usually like to pair solar thermal with a ground source heat pump, this can amplify the energy by the collectors acting as a source of heat, imagine it’s like replacing your borehole or ground array with a higher temperature roof mounted source. This can lead to astonishing efficiencies, one of our Pv-T systems is comfortably exceeding 600% efficiency. A higher investment of course but a long term high end solution.
Looking Ahead: Expanding the Solution
For similar sites, it is recommended to incorporate Solar Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) systems. These hybrid systems, which integrate both solar thermal and photovoltaic panels, can maximize energy generation by providing both heat and electricity. When combined with heat pumps, these systems can further reduce the need for external energy input, making them ideal for properties with high hot water and heating demands.
Because of the usage pattern at the Aorangi, pure thermal was selected rather than electric although they do have solar at other areas on site. In the future they may wish to increase the efficiency of their system by including a heat pump rather than the electric water heaters or perhaps look at exporting the excess hot water to other parts of the site.
Conclusion
This project at the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis Club is a prime example of how solar thermal energy can be effectively integrated into large-scale hospitality operations to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs. By adopting this innovative solution, the AELTC has taken a significant step in its commitment to sustainability, providing a model for other high-profile venues and businesses to follow.
Solar thermal is the most efficient system for domestic and commercial properties, once it is installed the cost to run it is next to nothing as the sun does most of the heavy lifting. In residential buildings the maintenance often undoes some of the impact but due to economies of scale it is a different story on a larger property.
To learn more about Naked Energy’s innovative solar thermal systems, visit their website here.
