Mitsubishi Electric: Chester Zoo’s Renewable Energy Heating

Chester Zoo is home to more than 30,000 animals and more than 500 species, making it one of the UK’s largest and most popular zoos.

In 2025, the zoo created the UK’s largest habitat to date, with the majority of the animals coming from the African savannah for the Heart of Africa experience.

However, caring for the zebra, ostrich and roan antelope in a British winter calls for reliable and adequate heating, one that also needs to be sustainable.

This is why the zoo is partnering with Mitsubishi Electric for air source heat pumps, providing renewable heating to the enclosure.

Chester Zoo’s renewable energy

Chester Zoo is the most popular paid attraction in England, outside of London, with a record 2.1 million visitors in 2025. 

As a world-leading conservation and education charity, the zoo is committed to preventing extinction and raising awareness for environmental and conservation challenges.

“We’re able to deliver different temperatures to different parts of the habitat to make sure that each animal has got the right environmental conditions to exactly match their needs,” says Chris Newman, Net Zero Design Manager for Mitsubishi Electric. 

“Our partnership with the zoo is not just about decarbonising existing buildings on the estate, but also about making sure that any new buildings are also designed and built with sustainability in mind.” 

The sustainable energy solution for the Heart of Africa enclosure features two Mitsubishi Electric CAHV commercial heat pumps that deliver 80 kW of heat capacity to the building.

According to E.ON, air source heat pumps take warmth from outside air and turn it into heat, reducing cost, carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.

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Above the enclosure are radiant panels, heating every animal area to a preferred temperature of 18 to 24 C.

The partnership adds to the zoo’s mission to decarbonise heating and cooling across its 130 acre estate.

“The Heart of Africa experience is part of our biggest development at the zoo in more than 10 years,” says Robert Arathoon, M&E Project Manager, at Chester Zoo. 

“We’re pleased that such a large-scale project has been designed with sustainability at its core, using renewable heat pump technology to minimise our carbon footprint.”

Mitsubishi already provides air conditioning and renewable heating to the luxury guest lodges in the ‘Heart of Africa’ zone.

Mitsubishi's sustainable venue

Mitsubishi Electric and Chester Zoo have previously collaborated to provide air source heat pumps to ‘The Square’, an event and conference facility that combines a historic grade 2-listed stables block with a modern conference area. 

Energy-efficient solutions were extended to The Square in 2025, balancing the heating demands of historic buildings with modern low-temperature systems and low-GWP cooling technologies.

“We know that we can’t be part of the problem that we’re trying to solve, so we need to develop sustainable plans that help the zoo reduce carbon emissions and achieve net zero,” says Jennifer Kelly, Head of Sustainability at Chester Zoo.

Also in 2025, the company installed electric air source heat pumps in other enclosures, like The Butterfly Habitat and the Eastern Black Rhino house, of the zoo.

Since this installation, a baby rhinoceros has been born, proving that sustainability doesn’t have to come at the expense of environmental and animal welfare.

This renewable energy strategy supports the zoo’s wider ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2030, showing how conservation organisations can align operational infrastructure with environmental goals, while even contributing to successful breeding outcomes that signal healthy, well-maintained habitats.