Your guide to Ground Source Heat Pumps
Ground Source Heat Pumps work by taking energy from the ground and using it in combination with a refrigerant circuit. This allows temperatures taken from the earth to be boosted to a useful level for home heating and hot water.
Ground Source Heat Pumps are suitable for a variety of different homes and are designed to be the sole source of heating and hot water.
Ground Source Heat Pump benefits
Ground source heat pumps do not require any external fuel and are able to heat whole buildings.
How a Ground Source Heat Pump works
There are three important elements to a ground source heat pump:
1. The ground loop
The ground loop is lengths of pipe buried under the ground, the pipe is a closed circuit filled with water and antifreeze pumped around the pipe. It absorbs heat from the ground.
2. A heat pump
A ground source heat pump works in the opposite way of a fridge – taking heat from the ground and moving it into your home.3. Heat distribution system
Consisting of under floor heating or radiators for space heating and/or water storage for hot water supply.
Can I use it for my home?
Not only should you seek advice from and accredited installer, you need to consider:
- Have you enough room for the ground loop outside your home.
- Is it suitable for digging a trench or borehole.
- What fuel is being replaced? If it’s electricity, oil, LPG or coal the payback is better than gas.
- The type of heat distribution system. Ground source heat pumps can be combined with radiators but these will normally be larger than with standard boiler systems. Under floor heating is better as it works at a lower temperature.
- To be 100% green install a solar PV to power the compressor and pump.
- Is the Ground Source Heat Pump for a new build? Combining the installation with other building works can reduce costs.