Parks are the perfect place to take kids to play, enjoy a quiet stroll or have a kick about. But they cost money to maintain - something councils have less and less of.
So we’re working on a clever solution: using heat pumps in parks to generate low carbon heat for our buildings. It’ll help tackle climate change and generate cash for councils to re-invest locally.
A heat pump is a cunning device for collecting the ambient heat all around us - in the air, the ground or bodies of water - concentrating it, and pumping it into spaces we need to warm like schools, leisure centres or housing blocks.
Parks are one the last places left where all sections of society mix, so it’s really exciting to be able to work with them to demonstrate what is possible in creating climate solutions.
We’ve been working with Hackney council and energy experts Scene to investigate installing heat pumps in parks to provide heat to nearby buildings. We looked at all the parks and green spaces in the borough and found the sites where a heat pump would work best. One of those was Abney Park, where a heat pump will keep the new cafe and classroom warm. Based on what we learned in Hackney, we have developed a toolkit so that other parks authorities can do the same. Contact hello@wearepossible.org for more info.
Read the report…
Our new report shows how putting heat pumps beneath our parks and playing fields could supply enough clean heat to keep the equivalent of 5 million homes warm.
This would save a massive 8 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, helping us to tackle climate change, improve air quality and generate income for councils and park authorities to re-invest locally.
Download the report to see how much heat the parks in your area could provide. If you’re surprised by how much potential your local parks have to help us tackle climate change and warm our buildings, then tell your local council.
If you work for a local authority and would like to know more about our work installing heat pumps in parks, please get in touch with us. hello@wearepossible.org
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