Ground source heat pump ?
Discussion
I had one in a previous house. I didn't pay to install it, but we get money back from the gov for having it. It was also fairly cheap to run, but took a long time to warm up, so if you came home cold, you'd be cold for a while!
It's also suggested to have it mainly for under floor heating, as it wouldn't get as hot. Also, you need the compressor outside, I had a small garden so could hear it all the time.
It's also suggested to have it mainly for under floor heating, as it wouldn't get as hot. Also, you need the compressor outside, I had a small garden so could hear it all the time.
illmonkey said:
I had one in a previous house. I didn't pay to install it, but we get money back from the gov for having it. It was also fairly cheap to run, but took a long time to warm up, so if you came home cold, you'd be cold for a while!
It's also suggested to have it mainly for under floor heating, as it wouldn't get as hot. Also, you need the compressor outside, I had a small garden so could hear it all the time.
Thanks, we have mainly radiators but some underfloor heating, 20 acres so I guess the compressor could go anywhere !!!It's also suggested to have it mainly for under floor heating, as it wouldn't get as hot. Also, you need the compressor outside, I had a small garden so could hear it all the time.
Phib
phib said:
illmonkey said:
I had one in a previous house. I didn't pay to install it, but we get money back from the gov for having it. It was also fairly cheap to run, but took a long time to warm up, so if you came home cold, you'd be cold for a while!
It's also suggested to have it mainly for under floor heating, as it wouldn't get as hot. Also, you need the compressor outside, I had a small garden so could hear it all the time.
Thanks, we have mainly radiators but some underfloor heating, 20 acres so I guess the compressor could go anywhere !!!It's also suggested to have it mainly for under floor heating, as it wouldn't get as hot. Also, you need the compressor outside, I had a small garden so could hear it all the time.
Phib
I have had one for 10 years.
See page 2 >> http://www.stevecarter.com/build/build.htm
It's cheap and reliable. Keeps the house at about 20 C (u/floor heating on both floors).
It heats water to hot but not boiling for showers.
Works in tandem with solar panels.
Emersion heater also installed into tank in case of loads of guests.
See page 2 >> http://www.stevecarter.com/build/build.htm
It's cheap and reliable. Keeps the house at about 20 C (u/floor heating on both floors).
It heats water to hot but not boiling for showers.
Works in tandem with solar panels.
Emersion heater also installed into tank in case of loads of guests.
GetCarter said:
I have had one for 10 years.
See page 2 >> http://www.stevecarter.com/build/build.htm
It's cheap and reliable. Keeps the house at about 20 C (u/floor heating on both floors).
It heats water to hot but not boiling for showers.
Works in tandem with solar panels.
Emersion heater also installed into tank in case of loads of guests.
WOW !!!! I will have a good read of that this weekend See page 2 >> http://www.stevecarter.com/build/build.htm
It's cheap and reliable. Keeps the house at about 20 C (u/floor heating on both floors).
It heats water to hot but not boiling for showers.
Works in tandem with solar panels.
Emersion heater also installed into tank in case of loads of guests.
Thanks
Phib
We have one. Old farmhouse, single glazed, solid walls (in part). Was installed by the previous owner who did a (partially completed) major refurb on the house before we purchased.
Since we fixed the installation glitch that meant the thermostats were not connected to the valve actuators on the heating circuits (meaning for the first winter the poor thing was running full bore the whole time - think £500/month electric bills!) the running costs have been tolerable for an old inefficient 3,900 sq ft house (averages about £250-£300 a month depending on how cold a winter we get). Certainly think it is competitive with oil (which would be our other option).
We supplement the heat with a couple of wood-burning stoves (Clearview) for cold days/nights. Underfloor via GSHP isn't the fastest system to respond to changes in outside temperature / heat demand, so it is useful to have a source of near instant heat when you need it.
Ours also has an immersion built in, which is useful to supplement hot water / top up heat when returns from the ground loop go down (which it only does when turned to 'Winter' mode. Ours lives on 'Spring/Autumn' mode for most of the year, when not on hot water only.
Happy to answer any specific questions I can.
Since we fixed the installation glitch that meant the thermostats were not connected to the valve actuators on the heating circuits (meaning for the first winter the poor thing was running full bore the whole time - think £500/month electric bills!) the running costs have been tolerable for an old inefficient 3,900 sq ft house (averages about £250-£300 a month depending on how cold a winter we get). Certainly think it is competitive with oil (which would be our other option).
We supplement the heat with a couple of wood-burning stoves (Clearview) for cold days/nights. Underfloor via GSHP isn't the fastest system to respond to changes in outside temperature / heat demand, so it is useful to have a source of near instant heat when you need it.
Ours also has an immersion built in, which is useful to supplement hot water / top up heat when returns from the ground loop go down (which it only does when turned to 'Winter' mode. Ours lives on 'Spring/Autumn' mode for most of the year, when not on hot water only.
Happy to answer any specific questions I can.
We've had one for 8 years now. Horizontal pipes one metre underground over quite a large area, it drives the underfloor downstairs and rads upstairs although the only rads upstairs that we actually have on is our bathroom or maybe another bathroom and bedroom if we have visitors. The house is 3300 square feet and very well insulated but almost completely open plan downstairs, in very cold weather we use between €10 and €11 per day in electricity cost but on a normal winters day it's about €8 to €9 (I think our electricity costs are somewhat higher than they would be in the UK). We also have solar panels for the hot water and only have to switch on the built in tank immersion if it's been cloudy for a few days.
Never gives any trouble and it just works, we had the fluid in the underground pipes changed after 6 years on the advice of the pump makers and the actual pump lives in an outbuilding on the back of the kitchen which supresses a lot of the pump noise. The only thing we did wrong was to spec a 3 phase pump as it was a bit cheaper but in the long run it would have been cheaper to have a normal single phase pump as the standing charges for 3 phase have gone up quite a bit in relation to single phase.
We also have a log burner (11kw) in the lounge area that boosts the heat in the large downstairs area so the underfloor thermostat is set to 18 degrees during the day and 19 degrees overnight (we have dual price electricity and it's much cheaper between 10:30 pm and 06:30 am) so the floor is nice and warm in the morning before lighting the log burner.
Never gives any trouble and it just works, we had the fluid in the underground pipes changed after 6 years on the advice of the pump makers and the actual pump lives in an outbuilding on the back of the kitchen which supresses a lot of the pump noise. The only thing we did wrong was to spec a 3 phase pump as it was a bit cheaper but in the long run it would have been cheaper to have a normal single phase pump as the standing charges for 3 phase have gone up quite a bit in relation to single phase.
We also have a log burner (11kw) in the lounge area that boosts the heat in the large downstairs area so the underfloor thermostat is set to 18 degrees during the day and 19 degrees overnight (we have dual price electricity and it's much cheaper between 10:30 pm and 06:30 am) so the floor is nice and warm in the morning before lighting the log burner.
A ground source heat pump will provide the best use of energy, but it may not be the most cost effective solution.
A ground source set up is expensive to install, however the savings (compared with air source) - won't necessarily be that great.
First need to determine what size unit is required (maximum single phase is around 15kW output).
Also bear in mind a heat pump really needs thermal mass - trying to use a heat pump like a boiler is not a good idea - just when you need maximum output the heat pump will perform at it's worst - hence the thermal mass to get through cold spells (acting as a large store of energy).
A ground source set up is expensive to install, however the savings (compared with air source) - won't necessarily be that great.
First need to determine what size unit is required (maximum single phase is around 15kW output).
Also bear in mind a heat pump really needs thermal mass - trying to use a heat pump like a boiler is not a good idea - just when you need maximum output the heat pump will perform at it's worst - hence the thermal mass to get through cold spells (acting as a large store of energy).
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