Geothermal frequently asked questions

RHI was a government led initiative to provide significant grant funding for domestic and commercial renewable energy solutions including heat pumps. RHI is now in a consultation period subsequent to the change in government.

Insulation, Insulation and a bit more Insulation! It is a total false economy to install a heat pump if your building insulation is not up to scratch e.g. 300mm of roof insulation, Cavity wall insulation, Quality Double glazing and so on.
Draft proofing is equality important and should be assessed and corrected. Poor fitting windows should not be thought of as ventilation!

Yes, we are currently structuring a simple and effective capital financing option which we anticipate making available to all clients very soon.  This scheme will be very clear and entirely transparent in order to promote the uptake of heat pumps.

This is controlled by a number of factors and we suggest you give the following consideration initially. 

• Is the property built?
• What is the size of the property/what land area is available?
• Where is the property is located – Metropolitan, Urban, Rural?
• Is the heat pump for heating, hot water or both?
• What capital budgets do you have available?

Combine your answers from the above with the following:
A GSHP (Ground Source Heat Pump)with the collector (a large length of pipe containing Brine/Glycol antifreeze mix) submerged in open water is the most efficient and effective. This may be a pond or lake with continuous flows or a river bed. (Permits from relevant authorities may be required) 
In the absence of free flowing water, a collector (also referred to as ‘loop’) inserted into a vertical geothermal borehole will typically provide the next greatest return. Geothermal bores up 150 metres in depth (subject to ground conditions) are used where boundaries are limiting. Consideration has to be given the additional cost of drilling (on average £4,000 per bore), space available for required number of bores and access and working space for plant equipment.

Where a larger area of land is available a ‘Horizontal Loop’, ‘Slinky’ or ‘Compact Collector’ can be inserted in a trench approx 1.2m deep 1-2m wide.  This is cost and time efficient method of installing a GSHP.

The size of the Collector required is directly proportional to heat requirements of the property and anticipated energy capture per metre of collector installed. Differing ground strata will return significantly different capture rates and subsequently impact on the land area or depth of bore required.
By nature of the ground works required it not uncommon for a GSHP to be installed in phases according to the construction schedule of a new property.
If space or capital budget is restricted an ASHP is a very good option and increasingly more efficient. ASHP are well suited for retro fitting into an existing property by nature of their small external form and can be installed in days with minimal impact. Operational costs are likely to be higher however. The Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme is anticipated to cover ASHP’s for an incredible 18 years – 5 years less than GSHP.

ASHP’s take approximately 4 days including the installation of a double coiled domestic hot water tank and completion of electrical connections.  GSHP’s can be quicker however 8-10days is the norm.  When providing a proposal we will indicate anticipated duration of works.

From a new build perspective it’s likely that work will be completed in phases according to the stages of the build process.

There are various different opinions. Some manufacturers say once commissioned no servicing is required, others advise an annual check up. In our experience it does no harm to check the pump once a year.  Of particular note we like to check Brine/Glycol in ground loops to ensure antibacterial additives are still working and the solution is not thickening and becoming inefficient.

First and foremost, we are a heat pump specialist and that remains our focus. Our desire is to deliver a pedigree service whilst helping to make heat pumps commonplace in domestic and commercial properties.

We stick to a limited geographical area covering Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Surrey. This is to ensure we spend time delivering a quality service rather congesting roads and burning fuel.  What’s more, you need the reassurance that we are to hand and can visit easily if necessary.  

We are currently undertaking our MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) and system accreditations to ensure all heat pumps installed by ourselves are eligible for RHI (See what is Renewable Heat Incentive? above).  We anticipate this process will be completed by spring 2010.

We like talking about what we can do.  If you would like to meet us we’ll tell you a bit more and we’ll also present our Quality Management System for your review.