A new renewable energy research centre on the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall has embraced British manufactured renewable technology to provide a teaching facility for the design, build, test and display of projects and opportunities relating to renewable energy engineering.
The £1.77m Renewable Energy Engineering Facility (REEF) provides dedicated workshop and laboratory space for student research projects as well as a means for businesses to identify challenge areas and opportunities for renewable technologies and collaborations with experts in renewable energy.
The REEF facility’s construction was said to be ‘ground-breaking’ in its own approach to sustainability. With space heating supported by a Kensa Evo ground source heat pump, manufactured by Kensa Heat Pumps just seven miles from REEF, the Evo installation reduces the carbon footprint of the building’s construction as well as its ongoing energy use, and will also have a dual purpose enabling students to conduct monitoring and interrogation of the system.
To further deliver on the buildings ultra-low carbon footprint ambitions, the facility obtained a BREEAM Excellent rating on completion, which puts it in the top 10% of all new buildings, and in the ‘Best Practice’ category as set by the Building Research Establishment.