Heat Pump

The heat source for underfloor heating comes firstly from a heat pump and can be topped up by solar panels (more about those later) and also immersion heaters as back-up.

The heat pump and tanks were loaded by Telehandler through a special hatch in the roof and another one in the main deck. Installation has not started yet but the items are in place in the plant room.

The heat pump takes heat out of the ground and converts it to higher temperature. It works like a refrigerator which takes heat out of the compartment and moves that heat to the back of the fridge into pipes which get hot. In the case of the fridge, the heat at the back is wasted into the room. With the heat pump, that heat is used to heat the ship and it is the ground that gets cooled but there is so much ground that the cold dissipates and provides warmth again. Very simple! For every 1 kilowatt of energy, the heat pump produces 4 kw of heat. Very efficient and makes for low running costs when fuel prices are on the rise.

There are two large cylinders to store hot water, plus a buffer tank to control where the heat comes and goes.

My next blog will show the wet units being installed on the lower deck so watch this space for some interesting photos.

Sorry if some of this is a bit technical. There is going to be some relatively high tech equipment on board all aimed at excellent facilities for visitors and low running costs. Once fitting out gets a bit further we will start looking at things as you will see them on your next visit in 2011. Meantime, for those who are interested in such things, the behind - the -scenes stuff will be pictured as fitting out progresses.

David Edwards Project Manager