Ground Source Heat Pumps

How it works
Ground source heat pumps make use of solar energy that is naturally stored in the ground and use this as the heat source for your home. A little way below ground level the temperature remains fairly constant throughout the year, so we install a long loop of pipe into the ground through which a fluid is constantly circulated by the heat pump. In a process known as thermal transfer, the liquid picks up a slight increase in heat from the surrounding ground as it flows through the pipe, and within the heat pump, this slight temperature increase is then stepped-up drastically via an internal refrigerant circuit, and the heat pump can then supply usable heat energy to your house.

Heat pumps themselves require electricity to run and operate, but for every unit of electricity they use, they efficiently produce up to five times as much heat energy output to your home - which in normal boiler terminology would make them nearly 500% efficient!

There are a number of types of ground source heat pumps available to suit the heating requirements of any building, whether it's an existing structure or a new build. They can also be installed almost anywhere, provided there is sufficient space to lay the ground loops or to drill a vertical bore hole.

The benefits of ground source systems

• Enjoy independence from fluctuating (usually increasing!) costs of fossil fuels by no longer relying on gas or oil supplies.
  
  
• If you have plenty of land then a ground source heat pump can be installed with a horizontal collector, where lengths of pipe are buried underground to a depth of around 1 to 2 metres.
  
  
• Alternatively, a vertical collector can be used, which requires a bore hole to be drilled to a depth of around 50m to 200m and the collector is fed into the hole.
  
  
• Provides substantially more heat energy output than electrical energy used to run the pump.
  
  
• Electrical and plumbing installation is very straightforward, requiring only a 240V mains supply and simple flow and return connections to the ground collector and to the house heating circuits.
  
  
• Ideal systems to use with under floor heating systems.
  
  
• Systems installed now will pre-qualify for payments under the Government’s Renewable Heat Incentive, effective from April 2011.

Typical costs
The costs of installing a typical system into an average sized house would start from around £7,500, although often the hot water cylinder will also need upgrading additionally to act more as a thermal store for the heat pump.

Subsequent running costs for such a system would possibly be as low as £650 annually for all space heating and hot water requirements, and these running costs can obviously be further reduced by using solar panels in tandem with the heat pump as well.

There are a huge number of variable factors in determining costs for heat pump installations, including the size of your home, how well insulated it is, and whether you have radiators or under floor heating, and so we offer a free home survey to all customers interested in heat pump installations in order to give you an accurate cost estimate for your own specific needs.

Renewable Heat Incentive
The Renewable Heat Incentive is the new Government funding mechanism designed to incentivise people to generate their own heat-energy at home (or work) via renewable sources.

This new legislation will come into effect from April 2011, but all systems we install in the meantime will automatically pre-qualify under the scheme – please don’t hold back!

A major improvement over the previous one-off grant system that has now been discontinued, the RHI will repay you a set amount per kilowatt of heat energy generated by your ground source heat pump system, every year, for up to 23 years!

What’s more, these annual payments will be inflation-linked and tax-free!

Unlike traditional heating sources therefore, you are very likely indeed to achieve full payback versus investment on any ground source heat pump installation within the fixed RHI tariff period.

Please do contact us for more details –there’s simply never been a better time to invest in renewables!