Phil Moore, managing director of Eco Heat Pumps, says we could learn from a school that is a green star
Softly, softly, the government is rolling out a programme that will change the face of Britain's schools.


While arguments rage in the media about the value of A-levels and vocational courses, the public seems unaware of a £9.3B
initiative to alter the very fabric of our schools.


Building Schools for the Future (BSF) is the biggest school
buildings investment programme yet. It will affect 3,500 schools and 3.3M pupils. The aim is to rebuild, or renew, nearly every secondary school in England over a ten- to 15-year period.
Clock ticking


And the clock is ticking - BSF is designed to move forward in 15 phases, or waves, and some of those are already rolling in.
Sheffield was selected as a
forerunner of BSF. That is hardly surprising - Sheffield Council is a leading light in the drive for low-carbon buildings. The city has its own waste-fired power station and it is the site of a range of
innovative, sustainable projects.


Sheffield is also the location of newly opened Sharrow School, which could serve as a benchmark for BSF.
The school shows what can be achieved by a forward-looking local authority and an experienced design and building team,
including main contractor Kier Group.


The three-storey school
provides both infant and primary facilities and also serves the
community in providing space for after-school activities.
As befits a 21st Century school, Sharrow benefits from a range of measures designed to create an ideal environment for children and staff, with minimum impact on the world outside.

No corridors


Features range from an
anti-bullying layout - no corridors and the toilets are in the classrooms - to a wild-flower roof and
extensive use of recycled materials.
A wild-flower roof is made up of living plant life and does not allow the run-off of water. In fact, no water leaves the site.
Temperature control of the environment - and provision of all the hot water - is provided by a ground source heat pump system, which supplies 60% renewable energy.


The energy to serve the new school buildings is extracted from deep below a park a mile or so from Sheffield city centre.


Beneath a grassy knoll in Mount Pleasant Park, 21 boreholes drilled deep into the ground now serve a 220kW heat pump system, which provides heating, cooling, and hot water for the school. At the time of installation, Sharrow School was one of the largest projects
undertaken by Eco Heat Pumps.

Week-long test


It started with a test. Long before installation began, Eco carried out a week-long thermal conductivity test programme using a special rig and computer equipment to
monitor energy drawn from a trial borehole.


Now the system is in operation, a water/glycol mixture is pumped through pipework in the
boreholes, drawing radiant heat from the sun.
Then hot water, delivered by the heat pump system, is held at 60˚C in two 1,000litre storage tanks.


When required, cooling is also provided by the system - via the underfloor loops of plastic pipe. The system is weather compensated with external and flow
temperature sensors modulating operation of the heat pumps.
There is little visible evidence of the source of the energy. Most who visit the park - which is home to the Sharrow multi-cultural festival- will do so without knowing about the heat that is being harvested from beneath their feet.