27 November 2025
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We take a look at the Compass Project which is an ambitious scheme that has transformed the former Aberdeen Waldorf School campus into a pioneering centre for healthy, sustainable lifestyles.
Led by the Camphill Wellbeing Trust (CWT), this initiative serves the local and wider community in Aberdeen City & Shire, offering inclusive spaces focused on health, wellbeing, and sustainability.
The building was in a poor state when CWT took it over in 2020 after lying vacant for six years, requiring extensive renovation works that took over a year to complete.
Initially, the client planned to install a conventional gas boiler for the heating system. However, this approach didn’t align with Compass’s core mission of demonstrating practical solutions for sustainable living.
The project needed a heating solution that would:
- Support the site’s sustainability ethos
- Provide reliable heating and hot water for multiple community facilities
- Serve diverse spaces including a village school, doctors’ surgery, bakery, and dairy
- Ensure continuity of service for vulnerable community members
- Work within the constraints of a historic building.
The solution
Stuart Sugden of Sugplumb convinced the client to install CTC heat pumps in a cascade configuration instead of the originally planned gas boiler. This innovative approach offered several key advantages:
- Cascade system design: The installation features multiple CTC EcoAir 622 heat pumps operating in a “master and slave” configuration. This means that if one heat pump fails, the others continue to operate, ensuring the site always has backup heating and hot water provision. This aspect is crucial for a community facility serving vulnerable groups, compared to a single large unit where any failure would leave the entire site without heating.
- Rapid installation: Despite the complexity of the building works, the heat pump installation itself was completed in just three months from start to finish.
- Scottish Government funding: The project benefited from Scottish Government funding, recognising its value as a mental health charity serving the local community.
The results
The CTC heat pumps have now been operating successfully, providing reliable, sustainable heating and hot water for the entire Compass site. The cascade system has delivered on its promise of reliability, while significantly reducing the carbon footprint of this busy community hub.
The heating solution now supports Compass’s diverse range of activities that improve the lives and wellbeing on many people in the local community.
Key benefits
- Sustainability: The heat pump installation perfectly aligns with Compass’s mission to demonstrate practical solutions for sustainable living, eliminating reliance on fossil fuels.
- Reliability: The cascade configuration ensures continuous heating and hot water provision, essential for a facility serving vulnerable community members.
- Community impact: The system supports a thriving local sustainable village infrastructure, including educational facilities, healthcare services, and food production.
- Heritage preservation: The installation successfully integrated modern, efficient technology into a historic building dating back to 1897.
Conclusion
The Compass Project demonstrates how modern heat pump technology can support community transformation and sustainable development. By choosing CTC heat pumps in a cascade configuration over a conventional gas boiler, the project has created a heating solution that embodies its values while providing reliable, efficient service.
Stuart Sugden’s knowledge in sustainable heating solutions proved instrumental in steering the project towards a heating system that will serve the community for decades to come, reducing carbon emissions while maintaining the comfort and functionality needed for Compass’s vital community work.
