Lush Cosmetics Case Study
Newly refurbished warehouse and offices benefitting from air source heating
Lush cosmetics is a fast growing cosmetics company based in Poole, Dorset. They purchased an additional warehouse and offices on an industrial estate to further their workforce and testing areas.
As a very forward thinking company focusing on sustainability, the need to achieve low emissions, whilst providing a comfortable environment for workers is paramount to the company.
Greenstone designed, specified and installed a 100kW air source heat pump to provide the warmth required via underfloor heating. The footprint of the required area to heat was 930m2
Air is pulled over a series of coils by a finely balanced fan unit. The coils contain a liquid refrigerant which absorbs the heat from the air. The refrigerant boils at around -20°C so, even if the air outside has dropped below -10°C during very cold weather, it will still be warm enough to make the refrigerant boil.
The vaporised refrigerant is then compressed to create a hot gas, up to 100°C, which is used to heat the water contained in the thermal store via a heat exchanger.
The efficiency of an air source heat pump varies as the outside temperature changes. Overall, we expect most systems to generate 3kW of heat for every 1kW of electricity used, creating an average coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.
Approximate installed cost | = £37,800 |
RHI benefit | = £4116 |
Saving on fossil fuel | = £940 |
Total annual benefit | = £5056 |
Return on investment | = 7.4 years |