Lloyds banks on ground

May 07, 2024

UK: A ground-source heat pump has been deployed to replace three 2200kW gas boilers at the Lloyds Banking Group (LBG) building in Halifax.

The new heat pump is predicted to save up to 6,292,112kWh of gas consumption, reducing LBG’s carbon emissions by up to 1,164 tonnes.

The decarbonisation project is part of LBG’s long-term investment in modernising its estate and reaching its net zero operations target by 2030. Lloyds acquired the building in 2008 following the takeover of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS).

The Mitie project team had to consider the historical and heritage constraints of the building, which is grade-II listed and built on top of an old brewery.

The project involved replacing the old gas boilers, which were energy intensive and beyond end-of-life, with a new electric open-loop ground source heat pump system to provide heating and cooling.

In addition to the three existing boreholes which had previously been used by the old brewery for beer-making, the process required the drilling of two new ones to facilitate the 1400kW of renewable electricity required to heat the entire building. The boreholes were required at a depth of 300m – nearly as far below ground as the height of The Shard.

Despite the complexities of the project, the building remained operational throughout the works, with minimal disruptions to business operations for almost 3,500 staff.