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Ground source heat pumps extract thermal energy from the ground near your property and convert this into heating and hot water for your home. They operate in cold temperatures and are incredibly efficient. The relatively stable temperatures of the soil create ideal operating conditions for ground source heat pumps, providing more daily comfort.
These types of heat pumps are suitable for homes that have suitable land to install ground arrays or a borehole system.
Ground source heat pumps differ in the way they collect energy from the ground: either via surface collectors (close to the surface) or geothermal probes (deeper in the ground). Both have certain requirements to provide optimal performance:
Geothermal probes fit even in the smallest property area since it only requires a hole of about 15 cm in diameter and from 80 m in depth (ideal if deeper than 100 m). In this layer of soil, a constant temperature of 10° C offers sufficient thermal energy to cover your heating and hot water demands. If more would be needed, the probe channel can be drilled deeper, or a second probe can be added (for heating performance higher than 8-10 kW).
Surface collectors require twice as much area for collectors as the to-be-heated area size. Excavation must be approximately 1.50 m deep and a minimum distance between the collectors, water pipes, ducts and buildings must be maintained. The collector's area must be unpaved and undeveloped to ensures sufficient rainwater absorption. Yet, bushes or shrubs can be planted on top.
The ground source heat pump is connected to a set of pipes with a very cold mix of water and an antifreeze in them. This fluid is transported through the pipes to the ground and back to the heat pump. When passing this cycle, thermal energy in the ground heats the carrier fluid until its low boiling point causes it to evaporate.
Back in the heat pump, the resulting vapor is compressed to heat up even more. Ultimately, a heat exchanger transfers this heat to the heating system which then passes it on to your home.
In properties with large gardens, ground source heat pumps offer plenty of advantages. To find out whether you can benefit from these, too, just check your home on these required main characteristics:
You don’t need a huge garden to install a ground source heat pump system. A vertical system doesn’t require more space than is needed to operate the necessary digging machinery in your garden.
All heat pumps operate more efficiently at lower flow temperatures and therefore need a sufficient heat distribution in the building. Therefore, a well-insulated building is mandatory to retain sufficient heat.
Generally, ground source heat pumps offer several major improvements over conventional heating systems in terms of comfort, efficiency, and sustainability. Yet, to provide a holistic view on the technology, it is necessary to point out the increased effort for excavation or drilling works as well as the importance of ground conditions for the heat pump's efficiency.
Ground source heat pumps have the lowest electricity demand of all heat pump types thanks to steady soil temperatures. Using free geothermal energy also generates savings on operating costs.
Our elaborate Sound Safe System keeps noise emission from heat pump operation at a minimum and thus enables flexible placement of the system. Since it doesn’t operate with an unit outside, there’s no noise emission outside your home.
The more gritty or sandy the soil, the less efficient the heat pump can operate. Therefore, ground conditions play a major role and increased excavation or drilling work for installation are needed. This raises development effort and costs.
An air source heat pumps always requires at least an outdoor unit to operate. Monobloc systems combine all the components in a single outdoor unit. Connected pipes transfer water to the central heating and hot water cylinder placed inside your home's basement or utility room.
This compact seup requires less financial investment, effort in installation and indoor space for installation compared to split systems - but with the entire heat transfer taking place outside, monoblocs are also a little efficient.
In contrast to a monobloc, the components in a split system are seperated into an indoor and an outdoor unit. They create most of the heat transfer within the walls of your home and this operate with less heat loss and more effiiciency.
If you're not limited in terms of space inside your home, increased installation costs of a split system are sure to pay off by means or more long term efficiency.
An air source heat pump may generate a certain operating noise. Therefore, the outdoor unit should be placed at least 3 meters away from your neighbours.
Also, you should make sure not to place ir right below your bedroom window and with enough surrounding space to enable sufficient air flow.
The indoor unit is usually placed in the utility room and requires approximately 1 square-meter of space. You could even install the heat pump in apartments.
In this case, approximately 2 square-metres of space for the outdoor unit are require. If you have chosen a monobloc system additional considerations regarding distance regulations apply.
The metric to determine the efficiency is the Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP), which is derived from the product's Coefficient of Performance (COP) and the respective climate conditions of your area.
The COP describes the general ratio of consumed electricity to supplied heat. For example, a COP of 4 means that the heat pump supplies four times as much heating power as it requires in electricity. The SCOP then describes this value more precise for your respective area.
Concludingly, the higher a heat pump's SCOP, the more beneficial its installation will be and the higher the yearly COP which you can expect.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) government grants helps homeowners in England and Wales with the cost of installing a low carbon heating technology in your home.
You can recieve up to £7,500 off the cost and installation of a ground source heat pump. The BUS operates in the form of a grant voucher which is provided to the installer after installation and commissioning.
To see if you're eligible and how to apply for BUS, click here.
Acquisition costs: A Ground-source heat pump ranges in pricing. Additional cost arise from surface collectors or geothermal probes (depending on the number of units) and large panel radiators or underfloor heating (depending on radiator type and size of living space).
Development costs: Mainly for excavation and drilling work (depending on amount and type of collectors, with geothermal probes being slightly more expensive). Higher development costs could arise for retrofits compared to new constructions.
Running costs: Low maintenance costs because of low electricity demand.
Yes. The initial investment is well worth it over time – financially as well as environmentally. The costs of a ground source heat pump are similar to other types of heat pumps, except for the potential use of geothermal probes. Yet, its particularly efficient operation with minimum emissions and running costs provides significant saving potentials on the long run.
This depends on the chosen type of collector as well as the size of the living space. Outdoor space requirements of geothermal probes are close to none as long as operating the required drilling machinery is enabled. For surface collectors, on the other hand, significantly more land without any trees or buildings is required for installation. As a rule of thumb: double the amount of square metres to be heated by the heat pump.
Absolutely. Geothermal heat pumps are primed to continuously deliver efficient performance in cold winter climate: This is possible since even strong temperature drops above the ground hardly affect the lower layers of soil from where thermal energy is drawn into the heating system.
With our current models, you can expect 20-25 years of running time before a replacement becomes necessary. Which is an improvement since in the past, life expectancy of a ground-source heat pump was only approximately 15 years.
Surface-near geothermal energy is used to power the heating in your home. The energy is gathered by surface collectors at approximately 1.5 m below the ground or geothermal probes at a depth of up to 100 m.
