Oakes Energy Services has helped the new multi-million-pound Darlington farmers auction mart become one of the most environmentally conscious in the UK with the installation of specialist renewable energy systems.
The North East-based company has installed a large scale, commercial ground source heating system at the site at Humbleton Park, which was recently officially opened by Prince Charles, to provide heat and hot water for the Darlington Farmers Auction Mart (DFAM) facility.
Working in close collaboration with the development’s main contractor, Halls Construction, Oakes Energy Services’ engineers created a series of 1.2-metre-deep holes surrounding the auction mart, which are used to extract heat from a three-acre area surrounding the site.
The heat extracted is transported through a plant room, also designed and installed by Oakes Energy Services, before being distributed around the site through several miles of pipework forming a 4,000 square metre underfloor heating system.
Underfloor heating has been installed throughout the auction mart including a café, which is open to the public, a conference area, board room and ten office units occupied by agricultural businesses, a vets practice, accountant and a law firm.
Oakes Energy Services’ technology has helped make the state-of-the-art facility environmentally conscious, through use of solar PV and rainwater harvesting for the wash down process to extract solids from animal waste to be used as fertiliser.
The auction mart is the latest in series of projects across the North of England, which Oakes Energy Services have supported with renewable energy solutions.
It provides a range of energy efficient services to commercial and domestic applications, which includes designing and installing renewable energy systems to reduce energy consumption and cost.
Oakes Energy Services forms part of PHS, one of the UK’s leading home services firms, which is also headquartered in the North East.
Jason Oakes, Business Development Director of Oakes Energy Services, said: “Dating back to the 11th century, Darlington has a tremendous farmers mart history, and this new facility is an outstanding new chapter for the agricultural sector in the North, which has a very sustainable future ahead of it.
“We are exceptionally proud as a North East company to have worked on this project. Our large-scale ground source heating system will provide reliable and consistent renewable energy for the site and its facilities while also removing the generation of carbon emissions.”