Geothermal Mound

Despite being more than 200 years old The Mound can boast being one of the greenest buildings of its type in the city of Edinburgh. (20/04/07)

This was made possible by the installation of a geothermal renewable energy system as part of the building's recent renovation. 

It consists of a series of 80-metre-deep cores bored into the bedrock below the car park.  Depending on the time of year, these are used to exploit 'free' heating or cooling.  

In winter, heat is absorbed from the ground and in summer it's rejected into the ground.  Says group property's Alex Keighren: "Around 46% of all solar energy is absorbed by the earth.  The bedrock below The Mound stores this as a large thermal mass, which remains at a constant temperature throughout the year.  "Indirect use of this solar energy is the basis of The Mound's renewable energy system.

"Using this ground source renewable energy allows the building's carbon footprint to be considerably reduced, providing a welcome environmentally-friendly solution for an historic listed building."