According to Climate Control News, Western Australia’s largest not-for-profit aged care and retirement living provider are trialling geothermal heat pumps at three of its 24 centres.
Bethanie Villages are trialling the geothermal heat pumps at its Bethanie Peel, Beachside and Dallyellup centres. Bethanie Villages’ housing general manager, Mike Brown stated to Climate Control News that the geothermal heat pump system will be used to assist the heating of hot water for the showers and swimming pools, as well as hoping that the residents will notice the difference and that it will have a positive impact on their lives due to the benefits the system brings.
The benefits of having a geothermal heat pump system include but are not limited to: reducing the flow of airbone germs and saving on electricity costs.
The geothermal heat pump system works by having 17 degree water pumped from a water aquifer into a plate heat exchanger, which acts a heat soak for the air handling units within the building, with the heat extracted from the building and transferred into the water via the plate exchanger. The water is then re-injected back into the aquifer temporarily to return being slightly warmer.
Bethanie Villages will eventually have geothermal heat pump systems installed at their other locations across the state once the trial is completed.