Plumbers Merchants, All Plumbing & Heating supplies Ltd.

Solar thermal heating for domestic hot water is the fastest growing renewable technology across Europe. Using radiation from the sun, a sophisticated solar collector is used to transfer the maximum amount of energy possible in to a fluid, which runs through the collector and which is then used to indirectly heat water in a storage cylinder. As solar thermal technology does not rely on sunlight but on solar radiation, it can work as efficiently in our climate to provide around 50-70% of annual domestic hot water requirements.Using the sun as a renewable energy source helps the environment, leads to reduced energy bills and means less reliance on gas and electricity for water heating.

All Ground-Source Heat Pumps have two parts: a circuit of underground piping outside the building, and a heat pump unit. The piping circuit can be what is called Open or Close Loop, there are two variations of the Closed Loop: vertical and horizontal (which refers only to the way the ground loops are arranged. Regardless of the type of Ground Source Heat Pump, it can be seen that a major reason for their superior efficiency is because they extract heat from a source that is free, the ground but also take heat via solar gain from the atmosphere i.e. the ground temperature increases and is regenerated on a daily basis via solar energy.(A body of water acts as a similar source of natural heat).

These systems can be referred to as slinky type collectors and are positioned to a depth of 1.0 metres below ground level horizontally within the grounds of the property. These horizontal collectors collect heat from the surrounding ground but also take heat via solar gain from the atmosphere.

These systems circulate a water/antifreeze mixture around a circuit flowing continuously from the Heat Pump and down the pipes set within the borehole. This fluid extracts Heat from the ground via the geothermal probes set within the borehole and brings the heat back to the Heat Pump.

Here ground water from an underground source is pumped up from the source to the Heat Pump, the heat is extracted and the water is then piped back down onto the ground.

Boreholes with a closed loop Geothermal Probe system as the one shown below will extract heat from the ground at depths of up to 100 metres however boreholes at any depth from 10 metres to 100 metres allow varying amounts of heat to be extracted reliably using heat energy from the earth.

The Heat Pump unit itself will continue to operate as long as it is able to gather the correct amount of heat from the ground. This is why the specification and installation of the ground collectors must be carried out to a high quality level. A well designed but badly installed system will provide the same poor results as a badly designed but well installed system. Therefore a total project management approach is required to ensure that sufficient care is taken to ensure that all components are compatible and of high quality and importantly the design is secure in terms of future performance.

What is an Air Source Heat Pump?

It is a renewable energy system that provides heating and hot water using free solar energy from the air. This energy is converted to a usable temperature and can then provide all your heating and hot water requirements.

How do Air Source Heat Pumps work?

They take energy from the air using an Air Handling Unit. This box is situated outside and contains a large fan that draws air into the unit, transferring the energy in the air through large heat exchangers. From there, the process is the same as a Ground Source Heat Pump. They work like a fridge by moving energy from one place to another. For example, a bottle of wine brought from your local supermarket is at room temperature. If you put it in your fridge and wait a few hours it will be cold enough to drink. If you touch the back of your fridge during that time you will feel heat. The fridge has taken the low temperature energy out of the wine, compressed it up to a higher temperature and in effect has warmed the kitchen up slightly. By using the same process Heat Pumps remove solar energy stored in either the earth, air of water around your building, compress it to a higher temperature and transfer it into your central heating system and hot water tank. They are also known as geothermal, ground source, earth energy, air source, water source heat pumps.

Does the Air Source Heat Pump work all year round?

The system performs down to air temperatures of -20°c which means that they are more than suitable for installations within the UK. Hot water and Heating can be provided 365 days a year. The hot water is produced without the aid of electrical immersions and at 55°c is more than hot enough for baths and showers.

For any further questions feel free to contact us: 01707 642 276 or info@allplumbingandheating.co.uk

Based on a standard package