The shortlist for the first National Heat Pump Awards 2011 includes pioneering projects that could be the forerunners of a new mainstream approach to harnessing low carbon renewable energy for the future.

Among the finalists are a community hospital in Malvern heated and cooled by ground water, a 13^th Century Augustian Priory near Weston-super-Mare which harnesses energy from the air, a hotel heated and cooled with sea water, and a vineyard in Holmfirth, the setting for the acclaimed television series Last of the Summer Wine, heated by earth energy.

Uniting these diverse projects is the use of modern heat pump technology, which extracts energy contained in air, water or the earth for use in heating and cooling buildings.

Among the finalists are also holiday homes heated by energy from a lake, 200 Nottinghamshire council homes heated with air-source systems, a hotel warmed by boreholes beneath its car park, and the building for the historic 19^th Century Needles Battery gun emplacement on the Isle of Wight, which uses an air-source system.

Phil Creaney, editor of Heat Pumps Today magazine, says: “Heat pumps have been around for a while, but their potential is only now beginning to be realised – as energy costs soar and the search for renewables gathers pace. Big strides have also been made in heat pump technology and application.”

He added: “The huge diversity in projects entered for the awards demonstrates their enormous potential for application in the future. I have no doubt that this is just the beginning of an exciting journey in applying this technology.”

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