Builders & Developers
What is a Heat Pump Technology?
A heat pump replaces traditional oil and gas systems. The heat pump generates the energy that will heat your radiators or under floor heating and cooling. Heat pumps run on electricity. However, they are very cost effective to run. On average for every kilowatt of energy you pay for you get 3 from the heat pump.
Our heat pumps meet 100% of all the heating and hot water needs of the houses.
There are 2 main types of heat pumps. Air-to-water and Ground Source Heat pumps.
Air-to-water:
This heat pump works by taking the heat from the air, (it works at -20ºC degrees) and feeding it through a compressor and this compressed gas is what is used to heat your home and hot water.
Ground Source:
This works similar to an air-to-water except it takes its heat from the soil rather than the air.
This can be done by drilling a hole straight down into the earth or by digging out an area and laying the pipes horizontally
Understanding Compliance
For information on achieving compliance with the current building regulations for any project that you are currently working on please give us a call on 0818 626 626, or send us a message and we will be able to discuss it fully with you.
Importance of Design
The running costs vary from house to house. The main reason for this is due to the way the house is designed. 2 houses can be 200m2 but they can have very different heat demands. Some of things that we take into consideration are:
- How much glazing is in the house?
- Your level of glazing?
- Your insulation levels?
We can gather this information from the XML file. We use software called Heat Pump Calculator (HPC) where we input all the details that are specific to the house and are able to project what the yearly running cost will be.
The most important factor when it comes to installing heat pumps is the design. A heat pump is not as straightforward as an oil or gas boiler, their efficiency is much more dependant on their system design. The reason for this is that the efficiency of a heat pump is very much tied to its operating temperature. The lower the operating temperature (temperature in the system pipe work (radiators/underfloor heating)) the higher the efficiency. In order to be able to operate your system at the lowest possible temperature each element of the system needs to be carefully designed, things like pipe sizes, control strategy, underfloor heating design become critical.
If your underfloor heating isn’t correctly designed for each room that it’s in then it may be necessary to increase the system running temperature to get the desired heat into the room. When you’re designing underfloor heating in a room you want to make sure the heat energy that the floor is capable of putting into the room is more than the heat loss from the room. The heat loss from a room is dependent on a number of things: the insulation levels of the floor, ceiling, external walls and glazing. The amount of glazing (in terms of heat loss even a very good window is worse than a bad wall). Insulation levels are measured in U values; the lower the U value the better the insulation level. Windows typically range from .6 to 1.8, whereas walls range from .1 to .21, so a very good window is 3 times worse than a standard wall! This is why areas with high glazing like conservatories will be the area in a house with the most heat loss.
Ashgrove’s Experience
Ashgrove’s experienced design and project management teams take regular training in order to provide you with up to date information for projects that you may be working on.
Proven Track Record
We have completed several commercial and domestic projects nationwide. See sample of completed projects.
We specialise in all Renewable Energy Technologies
Objective cost effective solutions tailored to each project.
Choose suitable technology
Over 20 years of experience in Renewable technology.
Improve Building Energy Ratings
Using Renewable Energy Technologies rather than fossil fuels.
Improve Building Operating Costs
Certain technologies will improve BER but not operating costs.
Integration of various energy sources and ensure they operate trouble free:
- Oil/Gas & Solar (dual coil or preheat & Reheat)
- Geothermal/Air-to-water with Oil/Gas Assist
- Geothermal/Air-to-water & Solar & Solid Fuel
