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Caravan Club Investing in Lp Gas CHP

The Caravan Club is using lpg-fired CHP to help fulfil its green ambitions.

The Caravan Club’s Hillhead site in Devon is using a Dachs lpg gas combined heat and power (CHP) unit supplied by Baxi-SenerTec UK to heat and power its communal areas and outdoor swimming pool.

Four 4,000-litre lp gas storage tanks serve the 22-acre site for heating, hot water and cooking, and the club has found that CHP can reduce its primary energy needs by up to 30 per cent in line with its increasingly environmentally driven agenda.

The Dachs CHP generates electricity from lpg and uses the heat produced in the generation process as thermal energy. The 12.5-15.5kWth thermal output from the CHP unit is used for space heating and domestic hot water, and to heat the swimming pool. Meanwhile, the 5.5kWe electrical energy generated onsite is used for general electrical and communal lighting needs for areas, such as the bar, restaurant, café, games room, shop and laundry facilities.

By generating heat and electricity from a single source, CHP can deliver overall fuel efficiencies of 79-92 per cent. Teamed with lpg gas, CHP is an ideal solution for generating maximum efficiency for complexes, such as holiday parks.

David Eley of David Eley Associates, the independent consulting engineer employed by the Caravan Club to design the project, said: “It was very easy to install the unit, and we’ve been impressed with how quiet it is – this is obviously an important benefit for leisure applications. We believe there will be significant carbon and cost savings, especially if the swimming pool is used year round instead of just on a seasonal basis.”

To work efficiently and significantly reduce carbon emissions and energy costs, a CHP unit needs to be installed in an application with appropriate thermal and electrical demands. The ideal situation is to have a base heat load for most of the year to allow the CHP to run, and a demand for the electricity that it generates. Having an outdoor heated swimming pool and a constant demand for heat and electricity for communal areas made the Hillhead site ideal for the Dachs CHP unit.

David said: “Where renewable and low carbon technologies are concerned, you can’t take a one size fits all approach. We’ve looked at various technologies for the Caravan Club and have installed different solutions at different locations, as what works well at one site might not be appropriate for another. Fortunately, Hillhead has ideal thermal and electrical base loads for CHP, giving us the opportunity to properly utilise this technology.

“We also believe lpg is cleaner than other non-mains fuels, and is more appropriate for lower temperature condensing technologies, such as CHP and condensing boilers.”

Over 100 years old, the Caravan Club is evaluating a range of renewable and low carbon technologies for its sites. These technologies are being installed across the UK, at sites where they are most viable and have the greatest potential to deliver optimum cost savings and environmental benefits.

The Caravan Club was keen to assess CHP technology, and will now be able to monitor its success via the Hillhead site. In addition to the CHP unit, Hillhead’s heating and hot water needs are served by condensing boilers and separate hot water cylinders, also fuelled by lpg.

Wayne Brown, manager at the Hillhead site, said: “Hillhead has a sound environmental policy in place. Not only are we investing in new technologies, but we have a plan to promote species diversity and encourage good environmental practice from employees, site workers and visitors.”

Contact Baxi-SenerTec UK on 01926 478 320 www.baxi-senertec.co.uk