Water Source Heat Pumps work by absorbing the heat from the sun which is stored in the earth or in water between 1m and 2m depth.
Water Source Heat Pumps use a system of flexible pipes containing fluid which are laid in water which absorb, then carry heat into your house.
Benefits
- Heat a whole house, and generate temperatures up to 55degrees comfortably.
- Arguably lowest and most consistent running costs
- Great for new builds, highly insulated renovated houses, houses with underfloor heating.
- Pipes can be laid horizontally or vertically
- Lake Source heat pumps have lower install costs and can capture better temperatures from "refreshed" water
Points of Caution
- Installation costs are slightly higher than other types of heat pumps
- Pipes require spaceand good depth and some flow of water to refresh the heat collection
How Do Heat Pumps Work?
All Heat Pumps work a bit like a fridge (BUT BACKWARDS), transferring heat from one source to another.
Essentially heat is transfered to the heat pump by lops or air units and this low grade heat is used to boil refridgerant. The heat is then pressurised and the temperature goes up to 55-65degrees - this can now be used for heating or hot water.
All Heat pumps produce between 3 - 5 times the amount of renewable energy than electricity required to power them.
Most Heat pumps rely on an immersion to give them a boost when high hot water demand is required but Heat pumps can also be installed with solar water heating to provide a complete hot water and heating solution.
Case Study
Brompton Lakes Lake Source Heat Pump project
Utilising traditional heat pump technology to harness heat from a lake for a new development of green residential holiday properties
Costs and Payback
Water Source Heat Pump Systems can cost anything from £7,000 to £9,000+vat fully installed however this depends on the size of the building. Sizes range from 6-16kw on single phase electrical supply.
Heat pumps tackle your whole heating bill, often twice as cheap to run versus traditional fossil fuel systems.
Heating and hot water can be around 50-60% of your energy bills and so by tackling this your payback will be much better. Whilst the investment is expensive when compared to a conventional gas boiler, the payback is relatively quick.
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What Do We Look for When Sizing Water Source Heat Pumps
Drawings of the building - especially for a new house build or housing development but also for existing houses
How much land and water is there for loops
How is the building constructed - what are the insulation levels and glazing
What is the heating system you are using, planning to use
What are your reasons for using heat pumps? Have you considered the alternatives?
Why Are There Such Requirements?
Heat pumps require quality insulation to protect them from the elements outside. Heat Pumps require a lower operating temperature to heat your house, in harmony with underfloor heating and require 12-24 hours to adjust temperature.
You can run heat pumps with radiators if they are large radiators or fan assisted. This means they can make better use of the lower temperature heat offered by heat pumps. In some properties we would recommend adding additional radiators once a heat pump has been installed to help those colder rooms.
If you install a heat pump in a house with poor insulation and normal radiators your heat pump may be less efficient and potentially cost you a lot of money to run as it will require additional mains back up power with an immersion heater.
Support And Grants
An essential factor in choosing Heat Pumps is whether you have sufficient insulation in your building. If you do not, Heat Pumps are not a good idea.
Provided your property is suitable we will arrange a site survey to assess your property and the surrounding land. We will also recommend you invest in a SAP report to assess you heating load accurately.
Not all heat pumps work well with traditional existing wet central heating systems. If you wish to consider this you will need to consider extra investment in new oversize radiators.
We can offer cashbacks of up to £2,000 for certain brands of heat pumps.
Next Steps
Check your insulation and read our More Ideas pages and fact sheet for more help.
When you are ready, please call 0800 619 1262 or write to us via our Contact page.
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