Heat is widely available in the ground, air and water around your house. These natural sources of heat are constantly replenished by the sun.
A heat pump system will harness free and renewable energy sources for heating your house and supplying hot water at a very low cost.
The role of the heat pump is to ‘pump up’ heat from a low temperature source, for example the ground under your lawn and release it at a higher temperature into your central heating system.
Three main types of Heat Pumps
There are three main types of heat pumps available on the market, those that take heat from the ground or Ground Heat Pumps , from water (rivers or wells) or directly from the air.
Ground source heat pumps come in two varieties –
vertical bore or horizontal loop..
Heat pumps are very economical, for every unit of electricity used to power the heat pump, 3 to 4 units of heat are generated. They work best in conjunction with low temperature heat distribution systems e.g. underfloor heating.
Because they require electricity to run, they are most cost effective when they can use night rate electricity.
This requires a night rate meter. A buffer store is required to maximise efficiency as this allows the heat pump
to store heat on a constant basis, releasing it as and when required.
( Information from Suistainable Energy Ireland)
Thanks the Techstore Team