Forum Topic

Ground Source Heat Pumps would be good for a group of homes.  Several years ago when I asked what was actually needed the company I was talking to (at an exhibition) said that you would need enough access to the garden for a Landrover towing a drill.  You can either drill down where you need a smaller amount of space or in a different system lay pipes underground over a larger area of garden.Air Source Heat Pumps look rather like split unit a/cs.  They need to have sufficient air flow around them and would need to be accessible for maintenance.  With a block of flats perhaps you could put units on the roof or another communal space.  You can't just throw a new system at a site you have to understand each individual one and the circumstances of a building.  Since far fewer people have these newer heating systems here we need a lot more advice and demonstration of how they work.  It doesn't work in the same way as gas central heating so you can't just slot in a new system. The heat output is different to our gas central heating so it seems you need bigger radiators. This is presumably why with the grants you could do some insulation so long as you put in a heat pump.  Unfortunately there weren't enough companies able to do the work within the small time slot allowed.I'd like to know that more new buildings had solar panels to create more electricity.  I've seen a tower block that was refurbished fairly recently where the lifts are run by solar (presumably with battery back up)!

Philippa Bond ● 1618d