| Abstract: |
The British Geological Survey (BGS) in collaboration with the Environment Agency (EA) of England and Wales, has developed a web-based screening tool that provides an indication of where conditions may be suitable for installing commercial scale (>100 kW heating/cooling demand) open loop ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems. The tool considers both, hydrogeological and economic factors, including the presence and productivity of an aquifer, the minimum depth of borehole required, as well as potential restrictions (e.g. location within protection zones). It also provides information on the volumes of water currently licensed to be abstracted as well as water quality information (corrosion, scaling and iron precipitation) for locations where such data are available. Data are collated, grouped and summarised within a GIS environment and viewed via WebGIS. Viability for open loop GSHP installations is displayed in the form of a screening map which shows all areas where the basic requirements for successful GSHP installations are met. More detailed information on the underlying hydrogeological and economic factors is available from summary data tables and through exploration of the underlying thematic maps. As such, the tool provides an effective method for the initial assessment of the subsurface conditions and the suitability for open loop GSHP installations |