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The environmental charity Possible is inviting supporters to contact their local council and ask them to investigate the feasibility of using the ambient heat present in parks to heat buildings. They quote the example of Hackney Council, which is installing heat pumps in open spaces in Stoke Newington to heat a visitor centre and leisure centre. See the short video above for an explanation of how heat pumps work.

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The importance of public parks is easy to see during these hot summer months.

But did you know, that parks have the power to keep communities warm through winter?

Heat energy from the sun is stored in the soil beneath our parks. With a heat pump,* it's possible to capture this clean heat energy, and send it to nearby buildings, freeing them from dependence on gas boilers.

It sounds utopian, but it's real.

Over the past couple of years, we've been working in partnership with Hackney Council in north London, to pilot the scheme. Heat pumps will provide heating for the new cafe and classroom at Abney Park, and the leisure centre at West Reservoir - slashing carbon emissions and reducing their heating bills.

But the potential for using park heat isn’t just in Hackney. Parks and greenspaces around Great Britain could supply 30GW of heat – which is about 10% of our total peak heat demand. If all of this potential was exploited, we could avoid over eight million tonnes of carbon emissions each year (the equivalent of taking around 2.5 million new cars off the road). 

If you’d like to see your local council do the same, now’s the time to get in touch with them

We want to see councils all over the country turn our local parks into clean heat powerhouses. We’ve put together guidance for local councillors to follow, but it’s always more persuasive coming from a local resident. 

Will you help us get your local council excited about the power of parks?

We’ve created a web tool and draft email for you to use, so sending an email to your local Councillor takes just two minutes.

 

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