Ground Source Heat Pumps
What are Ground Source Heat Pumps?
Heat your home with energy absorbed from the ground.
Ground source heat pumps use pipes buried in the garden to extract heat from the ground. This is usually used to heat radiators or underfloor heating systems and hot water.
Beneath the surface, the ground stays at a fairly constant temperature, so a ground source heat pump can be used throughout the year - even in the middle of winter.
How do Ground Source Heat Pumps work?
Heat from the ground is absorbed at low temperatures into a fluid inside a loop of pipe (a ground loop) buried underground. The fluid then passes through a compressor that raises it to a higher temperature, which can then heat water for the heating and hot water circuits of the house. The cooled ground-loop fluid passes back into the ground where it absorbs further energy from the ground in a continuous process as long as heating is required.
Normally the loop is laid flat or coiled in trenches about two metres deep, but if there is not enough space in your garden you can install a vertical loop down into the ground to a depth of up to 100 metres for a typical domestic home.
Heat pumps have some impact on the environment as they need electricity to run, but the heat they extract from the ground, the air, or water is constantly being renewed naturally.
Why choose Ground Source Heat Pumps?
Can reduce your carbon footprint: heat pumps can lower your home’s carbon emissions, depending on which fuel you are replacing. No fuel deliveries required.
Can provide space heating and hot water.
Can lower fuel bills, especially if you are currently using conventional electric heating.
It's often classed as a ‘fit and forget’ technology because it needs little maintenance.
This information has been taken from the Energy Saving Trust website. For more information please click here.
