A first for Europe! Finn Geotherm installs Panasonic 210kW units at Paragon House

Finn Geotherm has installed the first 210kW Panasonic air source heat pumps in Europe to provide clean, energy efficient heating for Paragon House – a teaching facility owned by University of West London (UWL).

The 11-storey building had been heated previously using gas boilers and, as part of UWL’s strategy to reduce carbon footprint and energy consumption, Finn Geotherm were appointed to specify and install a heat pump system. Initially, ground source was considered for the project but its city centre location meant there was a lack of space available for a collector loop and boreholes would be too complex and expensive. By working closely with Panasonic, Finn Geotherm were able to specify a new 210kW air source heat pump which would meet the UWL’s requirements.

Finn Geotherm undertook the first heat pump projects in Europe with the Panasonic 210kW units, lifting and installing three onto the roof of Paragon House to create a system with a total output of 630kW. The heat pumps were connected into the existing plant room, with Finn Geotherm also developing a bespoke cascading thermostatic control system to heat the entire heat building.

The project was funded with the help of a Salix funded government grant (the UK Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and the Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF)). It is expected to deliver annual energy savings of around 1,058,000kWh. Taken with two other Panasonic installations Finn Geotherm has completed for UWL, the energy saving will be in excess of 500 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

Claire Willitts MRICS MSc BSc (Hons), Director of Property Services at UWL, said:

“University of West London has been very pleased with the results of the project and having now been through our first winter running on the new systems we can safely say the technology works! This project has made a significant contribution in our carbon reduction journey and has given us reassurance that change for the better of the environment can also be cost-effective and deliver a practical operational solution.”

Guy Ransom, commercial director at Finn Geotherm, said:

“We are delighted with the outcome of this project at Paragon House. This was a highly significant project, which saw us installing the first of these colossal 210kW Panasonic air source units anywhere in Europe. The project demonstrates the vast opportunity for air source in commercial applications, particularly in areas where ground source heat pumps aren’t an option due to space limitations in city centre locations.”

This project was awarded Renewable Heat Project of the Year at the National Energy Efficiency Awards 2022.

Images: UWL