A major decarbonisation project at the University’s SportsPark has been shortlisted for a national energy efficiency award. The Energy Saving Awards, organised by the Energy in Buildings and Industry (EiBI) publication, recognise achievements in reducing carbon emissions and becoming more energy efficient.
Transforming SportsPark with Low-Carbon Heating
The project, completed in March 2025, is the first large-scale heat pump retrofit undertaken by the University, replacing 9 boilers across 2 plantrooms in the Sportspark with low temperature air source heat pumps, and accompanying secondary water-to-water heat pumps to provide hot water for the building’s changing facilities. The project proved particularly timely, as the oldest boilers were over 30 years old, and one of them actually failed before the project commenced on site, meaning a temporary gas boiler had to be brought in to ensure heating continued to be supplied until the heat pump installation was complete.
The £3.3m project was nominated for the Awards by Salix Finance, who administered a grant of £865,000 towards the project from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Cutting Emissions and Energy Use on Campus
Converting the Sportspark to electric heat pumps means that the building will become one of the lowest carbon buildings on campus, with targeted annual savings of 92 tCO2. The system is still being fully optimised, but already, energy consumption is trending to be 78% lower than the systems it replaces.
It has enabled the University to remove 2 separate mains gas supplies to the SportsPark, meaning the building now consumes no fossil fuels directly. With a very large solar array already installed on the building’s roof through a previous PSDS grant, and a range of lighting, ventilation and insulation energy efficiency work in the last few years, the building has become one of the University’s lowest carbon buildings per m2.
The building’s carbon emissions have reduced by 85% since 2015 and as the electricity grid further decarbonises, the carbon savings will improve further, with a 94% reduction in emissions in the building forecast by 2035/36, compared with 2015 levels. This brings the building very close to being a genuinely zero carbon building.
From an air pollution perspective, the project delivers a reduction in local air pollution (NOx emissions) equivalent to taking 53 diesel cars off the road each year.
The external plant compound has been designed to minimise noise by installing sound attenuation on the heat pumps – and they have proven to be extremely quiet. It has been built a short distance from the SportsPark, next to the SportsPark Pavilion. The Pavilion is a relatively new building, but when its boilers are due for replacement, an additional heat pump can be added, enabling the removal of a third mains gas supply on our step towards a zero carbon future.
