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52kW
36.5 MWh
6.23 tonnes per year
15.62% (limited by roof space)
At the heart of sporting excellence, Wimbledon, managed by The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), is synonymous with tradition, precision, and a growing commitment to environmental stewardship.
The AELTC identified costs and emission from their heat demand as a main issue to overcome on their sustainability journey as part of their mission to be net zero for their operations by 2030. The AELTC was looking for a more sustainable heating solution, which aligns well with their environmental goals, and provides uninterrupted, efficient energy supply throughout the year.
The Official Banking Partner of The Championships, Barclays, are focused on investing and scaling the climate technologies – hydrogen, carbon capture, batteries, among others – needed for the energy transition, to generate economic growth and create a new wave of green jobs.
The AELTC reviewed the challenge through Barclays’ Climate Tech ecosystem, and found a high-performance renewable heat solution in Naked Energy's solar heat collector VirtuHOT.
n 2025, the AELTC, Barclays and Naked Energy, completed a project to install 130 VirtuHOT solar heat collectors, integrated to pre-heat water for new electric water boilers which were installed by the AELTC, replacing the original gas boilers.
The original gas boilers spread across two boiler rooms supplied hot water for two separate showering rooms, one for female and one for male athletes. A total of 7 new electric boilers are now replacing the gas boilers.
A challenge that had to be managed was the transfer of energy from the array on the roof to the first plant room (male showers) and the second plant room (female showers) on the other side of the building.
The generated heat goes into a solar buffer vessel and from there it goes into the second plant room via the installation of a secondary circulation loop and heat exchangers utilising existing steel pipes. By installing magnetic filters and strainers the heat transfer fluid stays clean and doesn’t compromise the heat exchangers in each plant room ensuring longevity of the installation.
This ensures stable supply of heat to both shower rooms as well as the commercial kitchen catering to players of the tournament.
The combination of these two technologies creates a highly efficient heating system. The VirtuHOT collectors provide pre heat for the boilers, which in return don’t have to input as much energy. The system has footprint of 84.5m2, and shifts the AELTC’s hot water generation in the Aorangi Pavilion towards renewable sources.
For more details about the array and the installation, click here (https://home.barclays/insights/2025/06/In-the-Field-The-AELTC-and-Naked-Energy/) to watch the video.
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