Renewable Technologies

Air and Ground Source Heat Pumps

A heat pump is an energy-efficient system that uses the heat from the ambient air or under-ground collectors for heating and hot water. By using these sources and transferring this heat into the house through a hydronic system, such as underfloor heating, a heat pump requires less power input and offers greater power output than conventional boilers.

How it Works

A heat pump is essentially a big fridge or freezer. If we look at your fridge or freezer in detail, it uses a refrigerant inside the pipework to suck the heat out of your food, the compressor or refrigerant pump moves the refrigerant around the system so that it can take all the heat and throw it away using a coil on the back of the fridge. Your freezer is using the heat in your food to heat the kitchen, it’s a food to kitchen heat pump. For every 1 kWh of energy input, a heat pump can deliver up to more than 4 kWh in energy output. This is an energy efficiency ratio of more than 400%, which is far superior to high energy efficient boiler systems. Since conventional boiler systems can only reach an efficiency ratio of up to 5%, they consume more energy than they can ever deliver.

MCS Micro Generation Certification Scheme

(MCS) is a quality assurance scheme, supported by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. MCS certifies technologies used to produce electricity and heat from renewable sources.

The Scheme is designed to inspire confidence in renewable technologies with a financial backing from the Government.