Yes, it will against all types of fuels including natural gas and other carbon producing alternatives. The amounts depend on how well your system is designed. With new buildings it is very easy to evaluate.

Ground source heat pumps run almost entirely on non-fossil fuel. They extract the earth’s natural heat using electricity that can be supplied by a renewable energy source such as solar power. The pumps have much lower running costs than oil, coal or electric heating systems and will cut your CO2 emissions by between 4.5 and 5.5 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Yes, they simply move energy from one place to another. A fridge works on the same principle, but in reverse. For example, a bottle of white wine brought home straight 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 Ground Source Heat Pumps remove energy from a source and transfer it into your building. The sun naturally replenishes the energy removed from the air and ground.

Government grants are available through CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Trading) and the RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive) for new installations of Ground Source Heat Pumps. These were, as of May 2010 proposals:

• £1500 grant after commissioning a ground source heat pump where the competing fuel is Oil, solid fuel, LPG;
• A proposed annual grant of 7p/kWhr of “deemed heat requirement” of the property for 23 years where a ground source heat pump is installed into a domestic property.

The earth, water and air have the ability to absorb and store heat from the sun. For example, in the case of a ground source system this heat is extracted from the earth using a ground loop. The ground loop is a continuous closed loop of special pipe buried around the building. A mixture of water and food grade anti-freeze is circulated through the buried pipes where it absorbs heat from the surrounding earth. The ground loop is connected to a heat pump inside a building that takes heat out of the circulating mixture and transfers it into a heating circuit and hot water tank.

The special ground loops are either buried in trenches at a depth of 1.5 to 2m or installed in boreholes that range from 25-150m deep. They can also be placed in lakes or ponds. Available space determines which method is used.

That depends on the energy requirements of your building, where you are in the country and the type of ground you have. This will come from the specialised design work we will carry out as part of your project. However, the larger the building generally means more energy is required thus more loop in the ground.

Heat Pump Systems can be over six times as energy efficient as the most efficient gas or oil boiler. Instead of burning a fuel and producing the associated emissions they simply move energy that already exists, stored solar energy. If you compare their performance against solar panels fitted to roofs, ground source heat pumps can produce over six times more renewable energy. This is because they provide central heating whereas solar panels can’t.

Either in your utility room, basement or even out in the garage.

No, they hum like a large refrigerator.

Yes under floor heating, radiators or a mix of both for heat distribution in your building. In commercial buildings, air distributed systems can be used.

Yes it will. Thousands of these systems have been installed for many years in some of the most northern parts of Scandinavia where the winters are very hard and long. The key is the design and specification process so the system provides enough energy for the application.

With the correct design and equipment, all domestic hot water requirements would be provided by the air source or ground source heat pump throughout the year. Heat pumps produce water at a lower temperature than boiler systems. Instead of water that may be scalding water produced is hot enough for all normal domestic requirements. You will notice that you do not have to add as much cold water to your baths and showers. The aim is to save money and energy with either an air source or ground source system. Whilst GSHP’s do not typically warm the temperature of the waterabove 55°C, hot water must be stored at greater than 60°C once in week in domestic locations and 24/7 in commercial applications. Typically an electric immersion heater, or solar PV unit is used to heat the water up for the remaining 5°C or so, but even with this power usage is dramatically reduced compared with other solutions.

Yes, a system can be designed purely for an indoor or outdoor pool or integrate it with a heating and hot water system for the whole of your property.

Yes, systems have been installed into all types of building that are working effectively. A recent installation was a 300-year-old Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania where the outside temperature was -20°C and the internal temperature was 18°C. More engineering design is required on older and complex buildings than newly constructed buildings.

It doesn’t have to be particularly large, but the ground needs to be suitable for digging a trench or a borehole and accessible to digging or boring plant and machinery.

Since ground source heat pumps produce a lower temperature heat than traditional boilers, it’s essential that your home is insulated and draught proofed well for the heating system to be effective. It could also make the system more cost effective as a smaller heat pump and shallower bore hole can be employed to heat the house.

Underfloor heating systems, larger radiators or low temperature fan convectors (warm air heating) can perform better than standard radiator-based systems because of the lower water temperatures required.

Combining the installation with other building work can reduce the cost of installing the system.

Savings will vary depending on many factors, some are outlined below. It is important that the system is controlled appropriately for your needs.

• The heat distribution system: If you have the opportunity, underfloor heating can provide greater efficiencies than radiators because the water doesn’t need to be heated to such a high temperature. If underfloor heating isn’t possible, then use the largest radiators you can. Your installer should be able to advise on this.

• Fuel costs: unless you are combining the solution with solar PV/other renewables you will still have to pay fuel bills with a heat pump because they are powered by electricity. The saving you achieve can be affected by the price of the fuel you are replacing and the price of the electricity for the heat pump.

• Efficiency of old and new system: the efficiency of the old heating system will affect how much you spent on heating bills previously. If the old heating system was inefficient heating bills could have been high and the difference between the new running costs and the old running costs will be greater, therefore providing a greater saving.

• Hot water: if the system is providing hot water as well as space heating: the provision of hot water can lower system efficiencies, therefore making running costs higher.

• Temperature setting: if you heat your home to much higher temperatures with a new heat pump system than you did with an old heating system then you will experience greater comfort benefits, but heating bills could be higher than if you continued with the same heating pattern. It’s a good idea to set thermostats to around 18 to 21 degrees centigrade.

• Using the controls: learn how to control the system so you can get the most out of it. Your installer should explain to you how to control the system so you can use it most effectively

The government has announced it will introduce the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in October 2012. This scheme will provide households with guaranteed payments to encourage more properties to take up low carbon heating. It is anticipated that the RHI will make heat pumps more financially attractive.

The Energy Bill introduced to Parliament on 8 December 2010 includes provision for a new “Green Deal”. The Green Deal is targeted for introduction towards the end of 2012.

At a local level, the Green Deal will enable many households and businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their properties without consuming so much energy and wasting so much money. A quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from the energy we use to heat our homes, and a similar amount comes from our businesses, industry and workplaces. At a national level, the UK needs to become more energy efficient to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions which risk dangerous climate change. The Climate Change Act 2008 legislated for a reduction in our carbon emissions, and set legally-binding carbon budgets across all sectors of the UK economy – including our homes and communities, and our workplaces.

There are a number of important consumer protections which will be embedded into the Green Deal which are detailed in this document. These include the following prerequisites for all Green Deal plans:

1. The expected financial savings must be equal to or greater than the costs attached to the energy bill, known as “the golden rule” of the Green Deal.

2. The measures must be approved and the claimed bill savings must be those accredited through this process.

3. The measures installed must have been recommended for that property by an accredited, objective adviser who has carried out an assessment.

4. The measures must be installed by an accredited installer.

5. For householders, the Green Deal provider must give appropriate advice within the terms of the Consumer Credit Act and take account of the individual circumstances of the applicant.

6. The Green Deal provider must have consent from the relevant parties, including the express consent of the current energy bill-payer.

7. The presence of a Green Deal must be properly disclosed to subsequent bill payers(e.g. new owners or tenants)alongside energy performance information.

8. Energy suppliers must collect the Green Deal charge and pass it on within the existing regulatory safeguards for collecting energy bill payments – including protections for vulnerable consumers.

Ground Source Heat Pumps can be expensive to install. Many suppliers do not understand the impact that the geology of the ground can have on the performance of the ground source heat pump and there is a mistaken view that drilling deeper will mitigate the problems.

This assumption is incorrect and could result in more unreliable performance from your Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP).

What it will do is make the solution very expensive as the mobilisation costs for the drilling machinery required to sink very deep holes, is high.

They also need wide access and this means that most properties cannot benefit from this sustainable form of heating and cooling.

You need to talk to a specialist who can assess the ground conditions of your property and tell you whether installing a Ground Source Heat is feasible for you.

Modern systems are very energy efficient. For each kilowatt of electricity used to run the heat pump, three to four kilowatts of heat are delivered to the building.

Around the world, particularly in the USA and several parts of Europe, the use of GSHP systems is common. The ground source heat pump was actually invented more than 50 years ago, and continuous development has greatly improved its efficiency and reliability. It is now a proven, cost-effective, safe and environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels.

A typical heat pump unit for a domestic dwelling is about the same size as a large fridge.

Yes. There are reverse-cycle heat pumps that can deliver both heating and cooling. Currently no grants are available for such systems.

Yes. There are a number of GSHPs that have been specifically designed to run on a standard UK single phase supply. However, if you do have access to a three-phase supply, which is essential for the larger units, then this is a preferable option.

Yes, absolutely. Almost all new houses in the UK designed to meet or exceed the 2006 Building Regulations should be able to install a ground source heat pump system. These mandatory regulations have been designed to conserve fuel, reduce heat losses and ensure greater energy efficiency, and so will ensure that all modern properties need less heating. This means that the size of heat pump is smaller, will need smaller ground loops and will therefore be less expensive. Your plumber can connect the heat pump unit to your heating system and your builder can dig the trenches either before or whilst the footings and other ground works are being done.

Yes. Ground source heat pump systems are ideally matched to modern low temperature underfloor heating.

Yes, you can, but your building must be well insulated for you to gain most benefit. The cost of a system is directly related to its size and with heat losses being fairly high from older buildings, this can add substantially to the capital cost of installation. Money spent on upgrading insulation levels can save a considerable amount on the capital cost. Regrettably, many older buildings can never be made sufficiently energy efficient to use a modern heating distribution system such as low temperature underfloor heating, or low temperature radiators.

Yes, they can, but you will need larger radiators, sized for the typical 45°C to 50°C water temperatures obtained from GSHP systems. If your house is really well insulated they may be suitable, but check to see how big they would have to be and the space they would take up. There is now available a wide range of very stylish Italian die cast aluminium, high output radiators. These are very efficient and smaller than conventional radiators. Upstairs is usually less of a problem as bedrooms are normally kept at lower temperatures.

Yes, under most circumstances a truly competent plumber should be able to. However, unless he or she has had specific training in such installations, it can depend on whether or not the heat pump systems provided come complete with clear instructions and whether all the fittings and pipework are in place for straightforward connection to your central heating system, be it underfloor, or wet radiators. Remember, there is no flue to install. You will also need specialist expertise for the external groundworks from a geotechnical engineer to ensure that ground conditions are factored into the performance of the system.

Yes. There is generally no problem in doing so and it normally means the pump is nearer to the pipe connections on your ground loops, which often makes the whole system easier to connect. Some home owners have made up a small, well insulated, external enclosure for the pump unit.

Boreholes can be used instead of trenches.

Yes. In the UK, there is now a strong move towards alternative technologies that are sustainable and environmentally much more acceptable. It has been calculated that 40% of CO2 emissions are derived from the heating of buildings. By using renewable sources of energy to heat your property you can help to reduce these emissions, particularly when compared to burning fossil fuels such as oil. Most electricity suppliers are now offering ‘clean green’ electricity from a renewable energy source and, if you use this to power your heat pump, your property will be totally heated from renewable energy with zero carbon emissions.

There are no hazardous gas emissions, no flammable oil, LPG or gas pipes, no flue or chimney and no unsightly fuel tanks. GSHP systems have absolutely NO site emissions. Whilst servicing or annual safety checks and maintenance are very low, suppliers will still recommend some servicing to support warranties and insurances.

The initial purchase costs of a ground source heat pump system will be quite a lot more than a conventional oil or gas fired boiler. The initial one-off expense is offset by the lower running costs, lower maintenance and low servicing requirement. There is also the security of knowledge that the majority of your heating and cooling energy comes out of your ground, is under your control and will not increase in price.

The heat pump is not designed or sized to provide the greatly increased heat demand during the initial drying out of a newly constructed building. During this period, and until the building is completely finished, supplementary heating may well have to be supplied by the owner/builder using separate equipment.

No, if the GSHP system has been properly designed this should not happen. This is the reason why it is important to employ engineers who understand the ground conditions that you are installing your GSHP into.