The British Library

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Key Facts
London, United Kingdom
Market Segment Solar Heat for Tertiary Buildings Solar Collectors Area 712.5m² Solar Thermal Capacity 284 kW of heat and 18 kW of electricity Storage capacity 15m³ Commissioned November 2023 Type of collector/supplier PVT and vacuum tube manufactured by Naked Energy Project Developer Naked Energy Annual Energy Delivery 203MWh of heat and 13MWh of electricity CO2 savings 55 tonnes per year

Brief

The largest solar thermal installation in the UK, with an area of 712.5m², can be found on the flat roof of the British Library.It is the national library of the UK and holds a collection of over 170 million items. The solar thermal installation on its rooftop stands as an example of decarbonising the energy supply of tertiary buildings.

The British Library’s net-zero programme has the goal to reduce the building’s carbon footprint by reducing reliance on gas and grid electricity.

Technology

240 PVT and 710 solar thermal evacuated tube collectors from Naked Energy’s Virtu product range drive this renewable heat installation. Capable of generating both heat and electricity using the sun’s energy, they provide a carbon neutral energy supply to the British Library’s space heating and hot water for visitors and staff, and also provide heat to the humidity control system of the Library used to preserve its unique collection of books and manuscripts.

The solar thermal installation at the British Library comes with a 15m³ storage tank inside The Library’s plant room. The tank acts as thermal storage, so that solar heat generated during the day can be used later in the evening or on the following morning.

Thanks to the installation of 950 solar heat and power collectors carried out by Convert Energy, 55 tonnes of CO2, 267MWh of gas and 14MWh of electricity are saved every year.

 

Financial Structure

The project was financed by two grants of the UK’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is run by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix Finance. The goal of the scheme is to reduce carbon emissions of public sector buildings by 75% by 2037 compared to 2017.

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