Air Source Heat Pumps and Ground Source Heat Pumps provide an alternative low cost solution for space heating and hot water. A typical return on investment against Oil and LPG fed heating systems can take as little as 5 years. Air Source Heat Pumps are also suitable for hot water and comfort cooling applications which provide a comprehensive solution for both domestic and commercial applications.
HEAT PUMPS
The use of Heat pump technology in Air Conditioning Systems offers a real potential for energy, and therefore C0
2 reduction within buildings and especially within the home. This innovative, new technology offers the possibility of joining heat pumps to under-floor heating systems, domestic boilers and heated swimming pools to supplement the energy consumption of both the cooling and heating requirements of modern life.
The operational characteristics of a heat pump are totally different to a traditional boiler. With a conventional boiler, one kilowatt of energy in provides less than one kilowatt of heat to the building. With a typical electrically driven heat pump boiler, one kilowatt of energy in will give more than 3 or 4 kilowatts of heat to the building; these efficiency levels are predicted to rise year on year, increasing the benefits to customers and reducing CO
2 emissions further.
CS GROUP™ obtains heat pump boiler technology from its suppliers that can work with an air conditioning system or completely independently to provide a building’s hot water supply in a far more energy efficient way than traditional gas-fired boilers.
Air source heat pumps do not incur any civil ground works cost for the installation and laying of pipe. The cost of civil ground works can be significant using alternative ground source heat pump systems.
The outside of a building is where the Fan intake system (outdoor air handling unit) is fixed requiring no annual maintenance. The fan is the only moving part of the outdoor unit which requires no ongoing maintenance.
For commercial and large spaces a row or bank of Air Source Heat Pumps (Air Handling Units) will be required along with internal Heat Pump and Pressured Hot Water Tank for ongoing water usage. This is a system which utilises no external pipes and most of the working elements reside within the building. The air handling unit draws air across the water-anti freeze solution and transfers this energy into the refrigerant. The refrigerant boils and the gases from this are compressed to produce temperatures in excess of 100°C. This part of the process mirrors a ground source heat pump.
Reduced Carbon Emissions.
Lower Heating Costs.
Can be monitored over the internet for user confidence and security.
Mains pressure hot water cylinders from 150 litres to 1000 litres.
Utilises approximately 25% - 35% of the electricity of a standard electrically heating system.
Few moving parts - reducing maintenance costs.
Electricity is used at the point of heating reducing the potential danger to clients (Also no gas or other supplies required).
May be used to heat air, or water.
The system operates as a cooler in summer and a heater in winter.
Can be utilised in conjunction with Underfloor Heating Installations, Solar Panel Technology and other Eco Friendly systems.
Government Grants may be available for this type of technology in 2009.
Ground source heat pumps are generally not practical to implement in existing buildings. However, with escalating fuel costs and diminishing resources, ground source heat pumps are able to provide cost effective alternative systems with negligible maintenance. For new build projects
our Special Project team can advise on the practicality of which HVAC system(s) would be most beneficial.
Ground source heat pumps provide effective under floor heating, which is a very efficient form of heating. Essentially the floor is turned into a big radiator. This will give a warm floor that's comfortable to walk on but not too hot. While heat pumps require electricity to run them they return roughly three times the input into the heating system: if, say it consumes 1 kW of electricity it will return at least 3kW to the heating system.
How deep does this installation need to be under a building? It needs to be deeper than the level to which frost penetrates (no surprise there!). At about 1.2-1.5 metres down the temperature is a constant 10ºC-12ºC perfect for heat pump operation. A trench would need to be dug at this depth to accommodate the collector coil. The length of the trench would depend on the amount of collector coil required, which in turn depends on the size of heating unit required: approx. 33m or 100ft per 4 kW of output from a heat pump.
Because of the flow temperature a ground source heat pump matches the requirements of an under floor heating system far better than any other heating source. Under floor heating brings its own benefits such as more comfortable temperature gradient within the room and no radiators taking up wall space
