Heat pumps keep the rhino population warm at the British zoo

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Why is a zoo in Britain installing heat pumps to keep their rhino herd warm? Because a rhino is used to living in a temperate climate. Britain does not have a temperate climate, especially in winter, so zoos have to heat the buildings where the animals live. A rhino may have a big brain, but it can't close or open the door behind it when it needs to go outside. This means that zoos spend a lot of money to keep the heating in those buildings on constantly to prevent the animals from catching cold. What's a self-respecting zoo to do when money gets tight but the animals are freezing?

Fear not, dear reader, the Chester Zoo has learned what many of you already know. Heat pumps can heat indoor spaces, and do a better job than that conventional ovens or boilersand demonstrate it much less money. Last fall, the Chester Zoo, located south of Liverpool near the quaint English town of Mickle Trafford, replaced the kerosene-fired boiler in its rhino habitat with six air heat pumps.

Emma Evison is in charge of the team that manages the zoo's rhino population. She said Bloomberg recently, she was initially very skeptical about the change. Despite their tough appearance, rhinos are sensitive creatures. “I was probably one of the most skeptical people,” she said. She was concerned that her attacks – nine critically endangered eastern black rhinos – would be disrupted by the switch. Heat pumps do not make noise, but they do make a soft humming sound. New heaters smell different. And the temperature in the rhino house, whose residents are far from their native land in East Africa, must be maintained at all times with the door open so that the animals can move freely outside.

Seven months later, Evison is converted to the brave new world of heat pumps. Temperatures dropped as low as -5ºC (23ºF) during the winter, she says. The rhino house is usually heated to between 18ºC and 24ºC. The biggest test for the new system came in November, when the birth of a precious calf – Lumi – made maintaining a warm environment even more important. After seeing how the heat pumps performed, Evison says she “has no problem putting them in any of the other rhino cages.”

Heat pumps for rhinos

Heat pumps are a highly efficient form of electric heating, but they have struggled to gain acceptance in Britain, where electricity prices are high and three-quarters of homes are heated with methane gas. But rising energy prices and increasing scrutiny of greenhouse gas emissions are causing a growing number of companies to consider reducing the carbon intensity of their heating systems, including zoos.

Zoos in Edinburgh and London currently use heat pumps in parts of their facilities, but Chester Zoo – which also has them in its bear enclosure, butterfly house and events venues – plans to deploy them on a large scale. An upcoming exhibition, 'Heart of Africa', will use all electric heating, including air heat pumps, in the buildings that house giraffes, ostriches, reptiles and invertebrates.

The initiative is part of Chester Zoo's efforts to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions to zero by 2030. Jennifer Kelly, the zoo's head of sustainability, said there is also a strong business case. The rhino enclosure was dependent on disruptive and expensive kerosene boilers that had to be refilled once a week via tankers. Electricity may be expensive, but a tanker load of kerosene also costs quite a few pounds.

“We are an incredible amount of energy consumers,” Kelly said. “You normally keep or house animals from much warmer climates in a British climate and try to provide them with the temperatures they would normally have in their native environment.” The steady, constant heat also suits the animals, who, unlike most people, are always at home.

Solar panels for heat pumps

Chester Zoo's next step is to install solar panels to power the heat pumps, bringing the zoo one step closer to self-sufficient buildings. This fall, for the first time, the zoo plans to release a full year of data on the efficiency and cost savings of all its heat pump systems. Kelly says the early signs are promising, and she hopes Chester can serve as an example for other British zoos.

There could also be knock-on effects for people who come to the zoo. Heat pumps are causing “a little bit of nervousness” among the public, Kelly said, thanks in part to a plethora of negative stories about them. The zoo can serve as a case study that answers questions people have about the technology: Can heat pumps save money? How do they perform in the coldest weather?

Chris Newman, who is overseeing the project as zero carbon design manager for Mitsubishi Electric, says Bloomberg that there may soon be an exhibition at Chester Zoo to educate the public about heat pumps, what they are, how they work and why they are a good alternative to conventional heating equipment.

The takeaway

It is human nature to be skeptical of new technologies. We all have a healthy distrust of the unknown. Electric car advocates know this all too well. People hear stories about how electric cars take hours to charge, have too short a range, cost too much, and may even be responsible for the collapse of civilized society. That is why it is so important that many Municipalities are adding electric vehicles to their fleet. People will see them walking around and think to themselves, “Hmmm, maybe these newfangled cars aren't so scary after all.” Half the battle is getting people over their fear of the unknown.

The zoo community is close-knit. What happens in Britain will have an impact on zoos in other countries. Rhinos are of course not the only animals in the zoo. The hippopotamus is also a warm weather animal that needs shelter from the cold. Some even prefer a hippo to a rhino, as evidenced by this greeting to hippos from 1953: