Better Planet was instructed to design, supply, and commission a ground source heat pump, underfloor heating, and solar PV for this property in Hertfordshire.
As no gas from the grid was available and planning required the use of a low-carbon heating system, a heat pump was a natural choice. With plenty of land available for horizontal ground loops, the ground source was a more attractive alternative than an air source. Despite a higher initial outlay, the ground source typically beats the air source financially in the long run. Further more ground source is more efficient than the air source, resulting in lower operating costs.
Underfloor heating in screed throughout. Like all projects, Better Planet designed the system to operate at consistently low temperatures, taking into account room-by-room heat losses and floor coverings.
Solar PV is a great way to generate your own electricity and it is a good complement to a heat pump as the system can generate some of the electricity required to run the heating system. In this case, an immersion heater controller was added to the system, diverting electricity to the immersion heater in the hot water cylinder as a means to use more electricity on site.
Location: Hertfordshire
Project Summary:
Ground Source Heat Pump
- A Nibe F1145-12kW ground source heat pump
- A 300-litre heat pump cylinder
- A 200-litre buffer tank
- Two horizontal collector loops, 300 meters each
- Nibe Uplink allowing remote monitoring through the internet
Underfloor Heating
- Underfloor pipes in screed throughout
- Controls from Heatmiser
Solar PV
- Solar panel with a total output of 4 kWp
- Inverter from Solis
- Flat roof mounting system
- An immersion heater controller
Comment from the customer…
We are still very cosy here and are still using the economy setting on the ground source heat pump.
I think our last quarterly electric bill was £190 and the solar panel payback was around £130. It is very exciting to be so efficient!
