Whipsnade Zoo Rhino Enclosure

Evinox, the system solution provider, have supplied a renewable energy solution for the Rhinos at Whipsnade Zoo by combining the technologies of 3 of their partners’ equipment.

The Rhinos are having the hot water for their showers, the heating of their pool and the heating of the AHU for their enclosure all generated by a vacuum tube solar thermal system. The unique design of the high performance Thermomax evacuated tube collectors ensures that the solar thermal system can make a contribution to heat demand all year round and not just in times of peak sunshine. The Thermomax system, designed with northern European climates in mind, is well known for generating heat transfer in cold, windy or humid conditions, with minimal heat loss. The Evinox 1500 litre thermal store allows the solar heating system to combine with an air source heat pump to top up any energy requirements not met by solar in the winter. At the request of the head keeper at Whipsnade Zoo, the control system provided by Evinox ensures that the hot water for the rhino showers, the temperature of the rhino pool and the air temperature of the enclosure are at the optimum levels to encourage the rhinos to breed.

The Evinox design was met by providing a packaged solution incorporating 3 of their partners’ equipment: Thermomax for the evacuated tube solar thermal system; Capito for the thermal store; and Aermec for the air source heat pump. The solar controller provided by Evinox allows for integrating technologies and will bring the heat pump on only when the store sensors realize that there is not enough energy being produced by the solar thermal system to meet the temperature requirements of the system.

Even during winter commissioning the exceptional performance of the Thermomax evacuated tube system lifted the temperature of the store up to 60°C. The combination of the Thermomax tubes and the Capito thermal store allowed the early morning sun’s energy to be quickly harnessed in the upper part of the store by transferring heat, via the heat transfer tube, to above the solar baffle in the lower part of the store. When Evinox researched the best use of solar technology with partners across the EU, they identified that the key ingredient was harnessing the energy when available and storing it in large thermal stores ready for times of demand, ensuring that solar energy is not wasted when available due to the inability to store it. The solution Evinox provide, the Thermal Store, is a finalist in the H&V News Awards on the 1st May for ‘Industrial/Commercial Product of the Year’ due to the unique way it optimises solar performance, and can generate 15% more energy when compared with other methods of storage. Whipsnade Zoo has a project board in the viewing enclosure showing visitors how the heating and hot water system works, and publicising their own commitment to using renewable technology. This is the first of other planned projects around the Zoo that Evinox will be working on.