Worcester Ground Source Heat Pumps
Posted by Neil Bumford in BHL visit Wolseley Sustainable Building Center, tags: bhl, Ground Source Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps, Heatpumps, Worcester BoschAs we were informed on our visit the technology behind Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) is not new. Indeed this product has been successfully used on the continent for many years now.
Tucked away in the corner of the Sustainable Building Center is Worcester Bosch’s latest product, the Greenstore GSHP (pictured).
The Scandanavian made Greenstore is larger than I imagined, about the same size as a refrigerator (it also emits the same noise!)
Powered by electricity the Greenstore uses the natural energy stored in the earth to heat your home. The result is low cost heating that uses sustainable energy with no direct emmisions.
GSHP provide both space heating and in some instances the pre-heating of domestic hot water. For every unit of electricity used in the running of the GSHP, 3-4 units of heat are produced.
How a Heat Pump Works
There are three important elements to make the GSHP work;
A Ground Loop (dug in a trench) is filled with water and antifreeze. This is pumped around the pipe absorbing heat from the surrounding ground.
The Heat Pump has three parts. The Evaporator – this is the Ground Loop. The Compressor – This moves the refrigerant around the Heat Pump. The Heat Exchanger – the refrigerant gives up heat to a hot water tank which feeds the distribution system.
Finally, the Heat Distribution System. This could either be underfloor heating or traditional radiators.
The technology is impressive, almost too good to be true. But the units are both expensive to buy and install (external trenches will need to be dug). The unit is also very large, demanding either a large untility room or garage in which to locate it.
This heating solution will be a great success but its appeal will perhaps be limited to those living in larger, mainly new build properties.
This looks like a great piece of equipment. Its certainly an easy way to lower your heating bills.
The Greenstore GSHP is not that expensive when you take into account of the life expectancy of new condensing boilers, these can be as little as five years, the runnning cost is also the main deciding factor when purchasing a GSHP. On new builds the excavation costs can be as little as £600.
With over 100 installations we can confidently say the Greenstore GSHP can give a rapid pay back time.