Ground Source Heat Pumps
Ground Source Heat Pumps are an exciting form of renewable energy based heating system rapidly gaining popularity in the UK for many reasons, and S MacSwan Building & Design have recently gained valuable experience of the installation of such systems.
As a result we are now in the position to be able to offer as a service the groundworks and excavation associated with the installation of many ground source heat pump systems.
What is a heat pump?
A heat pump is a device which can transform low grade (low temperature) heat into high grade (high temperature) heat in the form of hot water suitable for providing central heating and domestic hot water. In a ground source heat pump, one or more loops of fluid filled pipes are buried underground either in horizontal trenches or in vertical boreholes and it is these that extract heat from the ground and the heat pump then turns into usable hot water.
What are the benefits of a ground source heat pump?
The heat pump is very efficient in operation and can achieve coefficients of performance (CoP) of around 4:1 i.e. for every 1 unit of electricity required to drive the system, 4 units of heat energy can be generated. They are also virtually maintenance free for their entire life of 25+ years which also contributes to their overall cost effectiveness.
Another important factor to take into consideration is the generous Government subsidy and feed-in-tariff schemes for qualifying installations which can contribute to the initial installation costs and also provide a source of income over a 25 year period. For more information about these please visit the Energy Saving Trust's web site.
What is involved in the installation of a ground source heat pump?
The initial design and system specification for such a system would be carried out by a specialist heat pump provider. We have worked with ICE Energy on previous installations and they are the UK's largest and most established supplier of ground source heat pumps. They carry out the system design, specification, supply of components and final commissioning of the system once installed.
Apart from the installation of the heat pump unit itself, accompanying hot water storage cylinder and corresponding plumbing and electrical work, the biggest part of the installation involves the excavation and ground works required for laying the ground collector pipework. For installations with sufficient space available for horizontally oriented ground collector pipe loops, for example in a large garden or paddock, S MacSwan Building & Design is able to carry out this work. (For installations with limited space requiring vertical boreholes, a specialist contractor would be required to do the drilling work due to the specialist nature of the task and equipment required).
In addition to the groundworks, our preferred contractor partners have the necessary experience to carry out the associated plumbing and electrical work.