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How do they work?
A heat pump is an electrically powered device that uses the earth’s natural storage of solar heat and moves this to provide heating (or cooling) for buildings. A heat pump can extract heat from air (an air source heat pump), water or the ground (a ground source heat pump). The technology and components in a heat pump are similar to a refrigerator. For a more detailed explanation see How a heat pump works
What do they do?
A heat pump provides hot water to supply a building’s heating. The heat is normally delivered to underfloor heating pipes or radiators. Heat pumps can also provide all the property’s domestic hot water needs. In summer they can do cooling as well.
What are the running costs?
Very low. For a modest sized well insulated house, the electricity to run a ground source heat pump connected to underfloor heating would cost around £300 per annum. Oil would be £900 and bottled gas £1,000.
Do heat pumps save CO2?
Yes. They make big savings in CO2. No carbon dioxide is directly produced by a heat pump. It uses electricity. Even allowing for the CO2 produced during electricity generation, for a typical house a ground source heat pump will save 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year compared with a new oil condensing boiler; even more against an old boiler.
Is it renewable?
Yes. A large part of the energy to run a heat pump comes from solar heat which is renewable and free. Solar heat will not run out or increase in price, unlike oil or gas.
Do they last a long time?
Yes. The design life cycle of a ground source heat pump is 25 years (10 years or less for a fossil fuel boiler). A heat pump requires no scheduled maintenance or servicing. The performance of a heat pump does not deteriorate over its lifetime.
What sort of buildings can use a heat pump?
Just about any: houses, flats, offices, hotels, warehouses, schools, village halls.
Will it work for my house?
The ideal property is a modern well insulated building with underfloor heating and plenty of ground space for installing horizontal ground loops if a ground source heat pump is selected. Heat pumps can also be fitted in older properties particularly ones undergoing a renovation or an extension.
Are there any external eyesores?
No! There are no storage tanks, flues, fumes, combustion, panels on your roof or turbines in your garden with a heat pump. Once installed the external pipe work for a ground source heat pump is out of sight.
How are the ground loops installed?
Ground loops are usually installed in excavations just over a metre below the surface. Three 40 metre trenches would be needed for a ground source heat pump in a typical house. Alternatively the pipes can be installed vertically in boreholes, although this is more expensive.
How much are heat pumps?
This varies according to the size of the property and type of heat pump. Air source heat pumps start at around £7,000 installed and ground source heat pumps with horizontal ground collectors around £9,000. We can provide a site specific quotation
What installation incentives are there?
Various grants are available under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. For houses, VAT is usually 0% or 5% and businesses can claim enhanced capital allowances and obtain interest free loans. The installation of a heat pump will score very highly on the Energy Performance Certificate in the Home Information Pack. For further infomation see Incentives
Who are Geowarmth?
Geowarmth design, supply and install heat pump systems. We are an independent company specialising in heat pumps. The Geowarmth team have completed dozens of installations nationwide using systems from leading manufacturers like Waterkotte, Kensa and Dimplex.
How can I find out more?
Have a look at our links or download a pdf format full information pack or contact us
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