A NEW eco-friendly heating system at Bovey Tracey’s Riverside Centre will cut carbon emissions and looks set to cost the town’s tax payers nothing, members have been told.
The move is part of the authority’s 2019 climate emergency declaration and subsequent pledge to become ‘net zero’ by 2030.
It will involve replacing the existing gas boiler with an air-source heat pump that will keep rooms toasty and provide hot water.
The overall cost is £22,225 but a Government grant of £7,500 is available, as is developers’ cash through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) scheme.
When members of Bovey Tracey Town Council’s Finance, Resources and General Purposes Committee met to discuss the plan on September 1, Cllr Glen Kennedy presented a report in which he said four quotes had been provided by specialists and that the lowest price also offered the most benefits.
‘The [pump] from supplier C has two other advantages not provided by the other suppliers,’ he said.
‘First is a built-in solar diverter technology which enables the heat pump to use any exported electricity surplus to immediately reduce its draw on imported electricity from the grid avoiding the need to cycle all electricity surplus via the battery.
‘Second is the ability to directly heat up the buffer tank directly on ‘off peak’ power using that as a heat store for later use which is more efficient than doing this solely via the battery.
‘These factors with a bit of experience in optimising the system are likely to reduce the payback period to about 10 years.
‘This proposal is the next priority in the BTCC decarbonisation plan. It is also important to note that savings will start to accrue immediately the project is commissioned.’
Members were already keen to endorse the scheme when Town Clerk Mark Wells said that officers at Teignbridge District Council had indicated that CIL money could be used to help cover the costs.
They voted unanimously in favour and are now awaiting the outcome of a planning application to have the pump installed.
Cllr Kennedy also informed members that the building’s recent solar panel installation had generated ‘energy profit’ during the summer for the first time ever.
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